


Eyes as blue as Rapture

by ChicagosAngel



Category: Bandom, Bioshock AU - Fandom, Fall Out Boy
Genre: Blood and Gore, Drinking, Drugs, F/M, Idk how to tag just yet, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Murder, Sex, it's BioShock it's going to get fucked up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-01-11 07:26:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 67,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18425787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChicagosAngel/pseuds/ChicagosAngel
Summary: Below the Atlantic ocean lies a city called Rapture, not ruled by God or Government; Patrick Stump, a chicago reporter, has just been given a tip that this city might be real and be connected to the crime family of Brendon Urie who currently was being held in questioning by the authorities. Patrick is sent below the water by his boss to try and find Rapture, if the place is real then Patrick may get enough money to never have to work again for helping the authorities; turns out Rapture indeed is real and Patrick has learned that hell truly does lie beneath the sea. In Rapture Patrick finds insane drug addcits warped by ADAM and their own obssesion with beauty, a few sane people, and evidence of sick crimes and unholy experiments conducted; attempting to help them once he discovers that someone in Rapture is planning on bringing the city down. While attempting to find evidence to throw Brendon behind bars for his families crimes and stop whoever this psycho trying to drown everyone is, Patrick doesn't except to find love beneath the waves but it seems that fate has a plan in store for him; maybe this angel won't leave hell at all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so thatblueberryboy on Tumblr made some BioShock Patrick pictures once and I got super stoked, we started messaging and then I started writing this. It's an AU like I said and I'm still new at positing stuff so, leave comments and criticism! Thanks for reading if you do!

##  Ch.1

Patrick could honestly say that at that moment, despite everything the reporter had seen down in Rapture since his arrival, was the most terrifying moment of his 25 years of life. He’d already run into a Big Daddy not long after he’d found the sub that brought him to Rapture (Dr. Yao had promised Patrick that the Little Sister that had been with the creature would be safe, that didn’t make the memory of her crying for Mr. Bubbles go away) and not long after once Patrick reached what he thought had been an untouched room he’d literally crashed into a Big Sister (the Electro Bolt Plasmid had come mighty handy when he took her down, again though the Little Sister she’d been with had Patrick wondering how many more kids were down here in this watery hell).

 

The creature on the other side of the glass though reminds him of a combination of Big Sister and Big Daddy; the suit reminded Patrick of a Big Sisters, gloves included, and the clunky boots of a Big Daddy’s. The thing’s weapon was different from a drill or the vampire drill, it was a triangular blade that Patrick wondered if it doubled as a shield but it certainly did its job of offense since Patrick just saw it tear and slice apart the Splicers that had been attacking it. Sure Rapture was huge, Patrick was certain he hadn’t even seen all of it just yet, but he hadn’t seen a single paper or warning about whatever this creature was or even a voice recording with some kind of warning about it. 

 

Suddenly Patrick’s reflection was in crystal clear focus, the man gasped seeing his disheveled appearance but what shocked him more was the absolute fear in his expression. Something in Patrick’s gut turned to ice as he saw movement, his eyes followed the creature-should he even call it a Big Daddy? Big Brother, call it that, he figured- starting to walk towards the left...right where the entrance to the hall Patrick was standing in was. Alright, Patrick took it back, the moment his feet found they were still attached to his body and allowed him to haul ass out of that hallway,  _ that  _ was the true moment of absolute terror. In all honesty, Patrick should’ve paid attention to where he was running, He’d been in Rapture...god, how long was it? 2 days now, a few hours? It was hard to even see anything and so far he hadn’t really found any calendars or clocks around.

 

The man came to a skidding halt once he reached the main room where he’d found a health station and one of those obnoxious machines that gave ammo, speaking of Patrick could hear the annoying cheery voice calling out “ Welcome to the circus of value!” somewhere beneath him. He gave the room a quick once over before rushing to the left staircase and hauling ass down it, if he was guessing right running blindly down halls would’ve attracted the attention of Splicers and at the moment he was low on Plasmid shots. Patrick stopped at the bottom step and caught his breath, he placed a hand against his chest as he wheezed and silently the man was praying he wouldn’t get an asthma attack.

 

_ Considering all I’ve gone through, how have I not yet?  _ He thought then laughed bitterly, just watch his luck finally screw him over and he dies below the surface due to shitty lungs. 

 

Patrick stood back up and strained to hear if the Big Brother-was he really going to call it that? Eh, better than ‘the creature’-was following him or not, all he was met with was the sound of fizzling electricity and the outside ocean. With this false sense of security, Patrick pulled his map out to see if he knew where he was; he vaguely recalled where a lab had been, Dr. Yao had mentioned that that was where most of the Big Daddy and Big Sister experiments had taken place and sure enough the reporter had found plenty of notes and reports on the creatures. Maybe if Patrick could get back to that lab he’d find something on what was (hopefully) not hunting him down now...but Patrick knew he’d gone through that lab thoroughly, there was no way he missed anything! Crying out in frustration, he threw his map on the ground and stomped on the carpet. Patrick paused and sighed, running a hand through his hair and picking the map back up, now was not the time to be throwing a tantrum in case any splicers did decide to pay him a visit. 

 

Quietly Patrick began his trek again, the halls were still empty and the occasional corpse of a splicer he had to take care of had started to stink the rooms up (one room in particular Patrick had to cover his face lest he start throwing up and he didn’t need an enemy sneaking up on him while he was spitting up bile); he was relieved once he saw a gene bank in another room across from him, Patrick paused and hesitantly peeked into a room only to see nothing save for a destroyed office-oh! Patrick felt a rush of joy (God, joy, could Patrick safely say that? To hell with it, Patrick had yet to get a replacement gun and that crowbar was going to be enough for him!) and hurried into the office. The red bar felt like a comfort in his hands as he snuck out of the room and towards the Gene Bank, he just needed to get an Electro Bolt Plasmid and he’d be fine-

Metallic screeching filled the air suddenly and Patrick’s gut filled with dread; he whirled around, swinging the crowbar as he went and caught the Splicer in the face. She screamed and went flying at the wall, Patrick ducked and swung as another Splicer swung at him from the right, he let out a crazed laugh and to the man’s horror a few more filled into the hall. 3 Spider Splicers hung from the ceiling while about...maybe 5 or 6 Splicers were stalking their way towards him. Patrick cursed, to his left was the wall and to his right was a hallway but meant nothing if he tried outrunning Spider Splicers, why the hell couldn’t he have found a gun?! 

 

One of the Spider Splices dropped from the ceiling; Patrick snarled at it and swung at him, one of his hooks went flying aside but a fist connected with Patrick’s cheek. The man cried out in pain and fell back, pain shot through his body as a hook pierced his right leg and the scream echoed throughout the halls. Another fist in his face and Patrick tasted blood, his arms moved without him really knowing and the crowbar connected with the Spider Splicers head; there was a sickening crack and Patrick knew he’d just snapped his neck, Patrick accepted that tiny victory and swung again as a regular Splicer attempted to drive a hook into Patrick’s face.

 

Somehow the man managed to get to his feet, quickly blocking another swing from another Splicer and sending her to the ground with a heavy thud. Patrick’s vision still swam, his glasses were somewhere in the room now which left him with somewhat limited vision but he could clearly see the figures; 4 Splicers left and it seemed like the 2 Spider Splicers had run off, were they afraid of him? Impossible, but Patrick would take what he could at the moment. 

 

“Look at the little fish! How you gonna protect yourself when you can’t even run?!” Patrick glared with all the hate he could at the Splicer, taking a few steps back, “C’mere you little shit, we’ll make it quick!”

 

“Go to hell” Patrick snarled and swung out, the crowbar colliding with a hook and to the man’s horror it was ripped violently out of his hands “ _ No!”  _

 

Patrick jerked back and flailed as he lost his footing, he cried out as he fell to the ground and felt his heart stop as the Splicer raised his hook-a gunshot sounded and the man jerked to the left, Patrick shrieked and shoved the dead body aside as it started to fall on to him. A few more shots sounded and Patrick saw the 3 remaining Splicers die on the spot, the man felt fear rising up until he saw the familiar figure of Dr. Yao appear in the right hallway entrance. Tears flooded Patrick’s eyes and he choked on a sob as she ran to his side, she shushed him gently and grimaced seeing the hook still in his leg.

 

“Jesus, Patrick, You can’t avoid trouble can you?” she chided softly, a look of pained determination replaced the gentle look as she reached for the hook “scream if you need to, this will hurt”

 

Patrick didn’t argue, only let out a broken gasp as the hook was pulled out easily and spots began to dance in front of his eyes. Elisa shouted, Patrick stared at the blood practically pouring from the wound; she stood quickly and pulled Patrick with her, how strong was she? Patrick mused on this thought as he struggled to hurry along with her, Elisa kept mumbling to herself in a terrified concerned tone and Patrick started to wonder if instead of Splicers he’d die because of blood loss.

 

“Patrick- _ Patrick stay with me!”  _ Elisa shook him and he groaned “You need to stay with me, We’re almost to an elevator Patrick everything will be okay”

 

“Okay…?” Patrick whimpered as his long began to burn again “Elisa-Dr. Yao wait-please it’s hurting-”

 

“Good! Good, the pain means you’re alive!” Elisa winced seeing the bruises starting to appear on Patrick’s cheek and noticed the blood on the corner of his mouth “Jesus, what did they do to you?”

 

“What do Splicers always do?” Patrick winced and gasped as the burn crept higher “Dr. Yao please-God please”

 

“Hold on, hold on” Elisa darted towards the familiar silver entrance of the elevator and leaned Patrick against the wall, she pressed the button and the doors slid shut “What happened to you? It’s only been a day since I’ve seen you, Patrick, what in the hell have you been doing?!”

 

Patrick winced, looking down at his darkened-red shoe “I-I did what you asked, Dr. Yao. I went through the lab and only found notes and reports about the...the Big Daddy and...and Big Sisters, I’ve still got them all but I put them-I gave them to one of the little girls I saved, she has them”

 

Elisa sighed and placed her hand gently on the man’s forehead, her hand felt cool to Patrick and he whimpered “breathe, dear man, breathe. We’re going to go back to my hideout, there’s a health station there, we need to patch you up”

 

Patrick nodded but froze, his heart stopped as the elevator descended past a floor where a familiar creature had been standing “Oh God- _ Oh God Dr. Yao this thing needs to go faster! _ ”

 

“Patrick!” Elisa had been leaning against a wall when the man began to suddenly flail, she grabbed his arm and stopped him from hitting a button “Patrick, Patrick calm down! What the hell has gotten into you?!”

 

“Didn’t you see it?!” Patrick stared above them in fear, oh god what if it jumped down the elevator shaft? “Dr. Yao-I saw it earlier, I thought it was a Big Sister but it didn’t look like one and it wasn’t a Big Daddy either!” 

 

Now Elisa had gone still, her grip on Patrick’s arm had tightened and the look in her face made the man’s blood run cold “Patrick, you need to calm down! The more you panic the more you’ll exhaust your body and the more the blood will flow”

 

Patrick opened his mouth to protest but the burning had turned into a numbness now “Dr. Yao-oh God I can’t feel my leg, Elisa”

 

“Fuck!” the doors finally slid open and Elisa all but hauled Patrick out with her “God damn it all, Patrick! What happened to all those health shots you had, all those plasmids?”

 

“Splicers attacked me and stole them” Patrick croaked, fuck his leg was starting to feel so wrong “Dr. Yao please, where are we?”

 

“Almost there, just hold on Patrick” Elisa turned a corner and stopped, she threw a picture hanging on the wall aside to reveal a keypad “is it going numb? Can you still feel it?”

 

“It’s numb” Patrick leaned against the wall and gripped his thigh “do we have to cut it off? If that’s the case then just put me out of my misery now”

 

“Oh shut up you drama queen” Elisa grabbed Patrick’s arm and helped him lean against her as the slowly walked through the doorway that opened, it closed behind them and the two stood in a dim corridor “You won’t need an amputation, Patrick, we’ll be fine” 

 

“You’re the Doctor, not me” Patrick mumbled as he allowed Elisa to drag him “I don’t want to scare the girls, I don’t want them to see me covered in blood”

 

“Only your leg is covered in blood” Elisa was touched by Patrick’s concern regardless “I promise they’ll be alright, Patrick. Once we get you patched up I need you to tell me though, about what you saw”

 

“What I saw?” Patrick let out a cry as his leg finally gave and he nearly pulled Elisa down with him “fuck-just run and grab me a health shot! You can’t keep carrying me, Elisa”

 

The doctor cursed but did so, promising to hurry back as quick as she could and leaving Patrick to lean against the wall. He leaned his head back against the wall and groaned, what did that hook hit? A major blood vessel? He guessed so judging by the amount of blood that was still leaking from the wound, Patrick prayed he wouldn’t have to amputate his leg, that’d just be another reason that he’d be neglected upon the surface. He shoved those thoughts out of his head, he just needed to gather enough information and turn it into his supervisors and then he’d get paid beyond his wildest dreams. That was a pleasant thought, Patrick figured he’d start focusing on it while the spots danced in his eyes; he could finally buy the farm from Kevin and he could live there peacefully, hell maybe he could convince Elisa to let Patrick take the girls up above with him and he could enroll them in a school. 

 

“What’s with the silly grin, Patrick?” he blinked and turned his head to see Elisa walking towards him with a few shots in hand “daydreaming?”

 

“Mhm,” Patrick winced as she injected the healing liquid into his arm “I was thinking about how much money I’ll make from this place. I just need to get a few more lab reports and I can head above”

 

“Mm” Elisa rubbed the already healing shot hole on Patrick’s arm “it sounds like you’ll have quite the pretty penny. What will you do with it?”

 

Patrick shifted around, grateful that his leg was starting to cooperate again “I told you, I’ll buy my family’s farm back from my brother and live there”

 

Elisa nodded, she stood up and held her hand out “come then, we need to talk about what you saw”

 

Patrick grimaced but took her hand and pulled himself up “I need to find those files, Dr. Yao”

 

“Excuse you, Mr. Stump, but I just saved you life” she bopped him upside his head lightly “I want to know about that thing you claimed to have seen” 

 

He sighed but followed her down the hall “I told you, it was like a Big Daddy and a Big Sister”

 

“And?” Elisa opened a door and smiled “girls, we have a visitor!”

 

Patrick smiled brightly seeing all the little faces peering up at him “Hi girls”

  
“Patrick!” the 7 little girls ran to him and hugged his waist

 

“Hey, it’s good to see you” Patrick knelt down and hugged them all best he could “I need to talk to Dr. Yao, okay?”

 

“Okay” all but one of them went off to play with toys.

  
“What’s wrong sweetie?” Patrick tilted his head and noticed something “hey, I haven’t seen you yet”

 

She shook her head and held out a doll, Patrick’s breath caught as he saw it looked like what he saw “My Big Brother’s gone”

  
“O-oh” Patrick hesitantly took the doll “I’ve...I’ve seen him”

 

She nodded “He’s nice, he was nice to me. He’ll be nice to you!” before Patrick could respond she was running off.

 

Patrick stared at the doll in his hands for a moment before hearing Elisa calling his name “coming! Sorry”

 

He found her sitting on a bench in a separate room “what were you doing?”

 

“Talking to the girls” Patrick sat next to her and held out the doll “one of them gave me this, I don’t remember rescuing her”

 

Elisa nodded slowly, staring at the doll with what Patrick recognized as fear “yes, she was found by Sophia, the one in the yellow dress. She said her Big Brother ‘stopped talking in her head’ and Sophia brought her here”

 

“What?” Patrick furrowed his brow “talk in her head? Is that how they communicate with the Big Daddies and Big Sisters?”

 

Elisa pursed her lips for a moment then sighed “No, that’s why I’m just as confused as you. I assure you Patrick, I’ve never heard of a Big Daddy or Big Sister speaking telepathically with their little sisters”

 

“So what, I found something entirely new?” that really wouldn’t surprise Patrick actually, he had accidentally stumbled upon a whole building filled with Prototype Big Daddies, all dead though “There has to be more of him surely”

 

Elisa shook her head as she held the doll “no, the little girl said her Big Brother was the only one…” She handed Patrick back the doll and neatly folded her hands in her lap “You need to be careful Patrick, I haven’t seen any of what the little girl has been talking about”

 

Right, fun, a new unknown enemy “I’ll be okay Elisa”

 

She smiled and took Patrick’s hand, gently squeezing it “you’re a good man, Mr. Stump, I pray that you find what you’re looking for”

 

“Of course” Patrick stood up “I should get going then” 

 

Elisa frowned “Patrick, you just had a near death experience and you’re already ready to leave?”

 

“Elisa ever since I’ve gotten down to Rapture I’ve nearly died. I just need to get some Plasmids and I’ll be fine” Patrick turned to her and gave a pleading look “Do you still have any healing shots?”

 

The doctor huffed and shook her head “you’re going to die the way you are”

 

Elisa packed Patrick a little satchel of health shots, the extra pair of glasses he’d entrusted her with, and the few Electrobolt Plasmids she could spare “I’m keeping the other for reasons you don’t need to know, Patrick”

 

“I wasn’t going to question it” Patrick hugged her tightly, she returned it and sighed “I know Elisa, I promise you I’ll be okay”

 

“You better keep that promise” 

 

Patrick hugged all the girls goodbye, promising that he’d been back to visit them soon and that he’d take them away from Rapture as soon as he could. When Patrick tried giving the one little girl her doll back, she refused and said it would make Patrick happy the way it had made her happy. As much as he doubted this, he wasn’t going to refuse a little kid and stuffed the doll in the satchel as he hurried back down the hall and out of the secret passage. Patrick looked around, checking his map, then hurrying towards a staircase to the right of the hallway; he didn’t want to risk the elevator, for all he knew the Big Brother would be waiting by one of the entrances and Patrick would find that blade driven through his gut.

 

The sound of screams was heard distantly, Patrick quickened his pace and nearly tripped on his way up the steps a few times until he reached the top and looked around only to be met with the same damage every other hall seemed to have. Patrick headed to the left and was met with a large area clearly for dancing and socializing. Despite his gut feeling telling him he needed to keep looking around for more files and even more Plasmid machines (apparently the map Elisa had given him showed where they were, she advised him to find them all to be able to protect himself) he walked up to the bar and sat at a seat still intact. Patrick took a deep breath and stared out at the window showing the city, the lights and creatures swimming by seemed so surreal that Patrick almost forgot all the hell he’d been dealing with for...wait, how long had Elisa said it had been since she’d seen him? A day? Patrick felt his stomach roll, that meant he’d been in Rapture for at least 3 days now. 

 

“As soon as I’m out of here I’m going to quit” Patrick mumbled to himself, leaning back against the bar and sighing heavily “get a different job, hell maybe I could sell produce or something. Better than running around and almost getting killed, the amount of therapy I’m going to need-”

Somewhere came a loud cry and a thud followed, Patrick sat up sot fast he nearly toppled forward; the man sat there frozen, barely breathing and listening to the sound of running and shouting, followed by all too familiar running of large boots. It doesn’t even take a second for Patrick to hop behind the bar and crouch down as he hears screams much closer and to his horror a body crashes into the wall behind the bar. He stared at the body as it slid down the wall, the lacerations on it indicate Patrick’s suspicions that the Big Brother had made his reappearance. He crawled forward a little, peeking around the bar to see a Splicer attempting to pin the Big Brother to the glass only for the blade to slice the Splicer in half; Patrick stared in awe, the Big Brother had done that with such ease Patrick had almost forgotten his fear of it until it stopped and turned towards the bar. 

 

Patrick whipped around and tried crawling towards the other end, it was a huge gamble since he had no idea if this thing was as fast as a Big Daddy but if Patrick could just get a few feet ahead of this thing-the scream he let out definitely alerted the Big Brother that Patrick was there, of course it also didn’t help that the Splicer Patrick thought had been dead was in fact  _ not  _ dead and was now trying to tear Patrick’s leg off. Patrick kicked with his free leg, repeatedly slamming his foot into the Splicer’s face but the creature wasn’t having it, the Splicer twisted around in a pretzel-like shape and quickly dragged Patrick from behind the bar; the man started screaming and kicking again, not even caring at this point if the Big Brother did see him because at least if Patrick was lucky enough the Big Brother would attack the Splicer first.

 

He’d been right about the Big Brother going after the Splicer first; once the two were out in the open the Big Brother charged at the Splicer, Patrick watched with wide eyes as it grabbed the Splicer by its throat and slammed it into the wall quickly followed by the blade repeatedly being stabbed into its gut. The blood bath had bile rising up to Patrick’s throat but quickly the man got to his feet and raced out of the bar area, down the hallway in hopes of finding a new room he could hide in until the Big Brother’s rage was down and Patrick could get his bearings. Behind him he heard the sound of hurried footsteps and it must’ve been luck because to his right was a doorway, immediately he dove into the room and shut the door. Patrick grabbed at his chest and struggled to calm his breathing, if that thing heard him gasping then he was dead for sure and-his whole body tensed as the heavy footsteps moved by the room, time seemed to slow along with the steps and all Patrick could do was imagine the blade piercing through the door and straight into his body.

 

All Patrick could hear was his own breathing and the creaking sounds of Rapture, the steps had stopped and if Patrick could look through the door he knew he’d see the Big Brother standing there. Moments ticked by before Patrick heard a low sound, it made his blood run cold and almost had him running across the room but he tensed up to stay put; the sound reminded him of...well, it wasn’t as deep as a Big Daddy’s and it certainly wasn’t the ear piercing sound of a Big Sister. It was a low sort of...moan? Groan? Patrick furrowed his brow as he slowly began to army crawl towards a knocked over couch, why hadn’t the Big Brother just burst in yet and killed him? He curled into a ball once he was behind the couch and shut his eyes tightly, breathe-in breathe-out Patrick Stump. This only worked for a few seconds before Patrick’s covered his mouth to keep from screaming as the door was literally splintered open; he stared in silent horror as the tall figure entered the room, seeming to look around while the light coming from the helmet illuminated the room like a flashlight. 

 

_ Oh please, please God don’t let him find me, please please  _ tears were beginning to gather in Patrick’s eyes, why was he praying to God when so far nothing had shown Patrick any proof of such a being being in Rapture.

 

The noise came again, Patrick slowly turned his head to see the Big Brother staring at a desk, did he think Patrick was there? Patrick didn’t want to push his luck, as much as he could see an obvious out to crawl back towards the open doorway if that thing turned around in time to see him he’d be done for. 

 

_ What the hell are you talking about, Stump? You’re a fucking reporter, you take risks on possible lies all the time and ever since you got here you’ve nearly died! What’s one more risk right?  _ Patrick took a deep breath and slowly began to inch his way forward, the Big Brother had already made his way to the other side of the room and if Patrick was lucky-God, that was what he’d been needing the most this whole damn 3 days!-he could run and find...find something, find another lab maybe or make his way back to Elisa.

 

What Patrick seemed to forget, was that he had a satchel full of glass bottles that clanged together when he tried to get on his knees; time went still again as Patrick saw the familiar yellow light appear right above the couch, the tears returned and without hesitation the man took his chance to haul ass out of the room. He wasn’t as fast as he wanted to be, his leg still ached from the Splicer digging his nails into Patrick’s ankle and he was fairly sure he was bleeding a little, but there was a new sound behind Patrick coupled with the sound of something running after him. The man cursed as he reached an open area again, a grand staircase that went left or right and now that Patrick realized it he was standing in a foyer of some building he’d yet to have discovered. He didn’t have time to gawk though, not when he heard a new but familiar sound behind him.

 

Patrick turned around to see the familiar ugly mug of the 2 Spider Splicers that had tried gutting him earlier, and him completely without a weapon; The female Spider Splicer lunged at Patrick, the man quickly throwing himself to the side and watched her sail towards the ground where she gracefully rolled into a ball then back on her feet she was. Again Patrick ducked as the other Splicer, a man, tried catching Patrick off guard and slicing Patrick’s neck open. With luck Patrick ducked and pulled a Plasmid shot out of his satchel and stabbed the needle into his veins; the reaction was instant, Patrick’s hands crackled with electricity and quickly the man fried both Splicers until their corpses were rigid and he was positive he’d overdone it. Patrick’s body felt way too cold suddenly and he leaned over to hurl, bile burned his throat and he wondered if he was dying all over again. 

 

_ Not dying, not dying, just shell shocked  _ Patrick let out a shaky breath as he straightened up and rubbed his throat “Just gotta get more files and then that farm is mine”

 

Patrick winced as he stared at the small blue spikes piercing through his skin, the blue tint reminded him of the stop motion christmas movies with Jack Frost or Snow Miser he used to watch with his Mom and Dad. He let out a shaky breath and stood up from the wall, his back popped and he groaned at the slight pain, the cold was not good for his bones at all and this new Plasmid wasn’t exactly helping. There was a noise to Patrick’s left and he whirled around, freezing a Splicer mid-air and jumping to the left as the frozen corpse shattered on the ground. The man wheezed a little and hurried out of the freezing vaults, the fishery had been a pain in the ass to get to and Patrick had found only a few files and a busted camera with still intact pictures of what looked like a pretty scandalous moment between some random girl and, to Patrick’s luck, Brendon Urie. 

 

“You’re fucked once I’m out of here, Urie” Patrick said confidently, he checked the photos in his satchel again and smiled seeing the evidence (plus a few more health shots he’d found) but his smile faded a little once his eyes landed on the doll “Oh…”

 

Patrick had forgotten he’d had it to be truthful, since he’d been running and fighting his way to get down here. He pulled it out and looked down at it, a silly smiling appearing on his face as he looked at the little piece of yellow glass that was meant to be where the eyes were, Patrick sighed and felt a little silly but hugged it to his chest. It brought some kind of comfort to him, despite the little sharp piece of metal pressing into his arm, and Patrick let himself bask in this comfort for only a few moments before the doll was back in the satchel and Patrick was running to find the stairs that would lead him out of here. A few more dead Splicers and Patrick found himself back in the corridor leading to what Patrick had dubbed the ‘Luxury zone’. 

 

In the distance Patrick heard the sound of a Big Daddy, He groaned and looked around to see just where it might be coming from when his answer came in the form of a sudden scream ripping through the air-a Little Sister was being attacked. Patrick threw his fear aside and raced towards the cries, he’d be damned before he let anyone hurt a little kid; the doors slid open and Patrick found himself in a familiar foyer, if he was right one of those stupid Circus of value machines was around here and-

 

_ “Daddy no! Get away from my daddy!”  _ Patrick’s blood turned cold and he saw below him on the main floor a Little Sister cowering away from a Splicer “ _ Get away, get away from me!”  _

 

“You get the fuck away from her!” Patrick shouted.

 

Below the Splicer looked up, snarling at him “You filthy little fishy, you want some ADAM? Too fucking bad!”

 

“I said get away from her!” Patrick shot ice from his hands, the Splicer screamed as it was frozen instantly.

 

To Patrick’s dismay, the Little Sister ran and disappeared from the room; Patrick cursed and hurried after her, there was no way that Splicer didn’t have more following after it. He caught sight of her disappearing around the corner and picked up his pace, if he was lucky he could catch her before she found another Big Daddy and Patrick would have to listen to her cry as he ended the creature’s life. The hallway echoed as he ran, he strained to listen for her small footsteps and felt sick as he only heard his own footsteps and the sounds of Rapture around him.

 

_ God dammit  _ Patrick skidded to a halt and caught his breath, there was no way this was a good idea but fuck it, it was all Patrick could think to do “Little one! It’s okay,I’m not going to hurt you, I promise!” Nothing, why would there be? “Please come out, I promise I’m going to not hurt you. I…” Patrick stopped, was that a sob?

 

“ _ You...won’t hurt me?”  _ Patrick’s heart jumped as he saw familiar yellow eyes appear from behind a bench “ _ Where’s my daddy” _

 

_ He’s dead honey  _ “He’s just sleeping sweetie, I promise” Patrick knelt on one knee and smiled at her gently ‘I’m going to take you to him okay? Dr. Yao, you know her right? She sent me out to find all of you so I could take you back to your daddy”

 

The little girl began to crawl a little more out from under the bench “ _ You know where daddy is? He’s not dead?” _

 

Oh god, that ripped at Patrick’s heart “No honey, he’s not dead. He’s waiting for you at Dr. Yao’s home, can you come here please? So I can make sure you’re not hurt”

 

Now the little girl was standing before Patrick, obvious fear written on her face “ _ You….you stopped the bad man from hurting me” _

 

“Of course I did” Patrick gently held his hand out “You’re just a little girl, your daddy was trying to keep you safe like me”

 

She shuffled closer, a curious look suddenly replacing the fear “ _ You wanted to keep me safe? Just like your daddy is?” _

 

Patrick’s blood turned cold, he prayed his face didn’t show “I-yeah, just like my daddy honey. He...he’s trying to keep me safe, and so was yours”

 

She nodded so enthusiastically it made Patrick’s skin crawl “ _ That’s why he’s looking for you, right?” _

 

“Ye-yeah, we got um, separated” Patrick shifted around so now he sat on his knees “Sweetie can you come here? I really need to make sure you’re not hurt”

  
“ _ Okay”  _ she beamed at Patrick as if he was the Big Daddy “ _ We’re going to see my daddy, right? When you’re done with my check up?” _

 

“You got it, kiddo” Patrick gently placed his hand on her head “I’ll take you back to Dr. Yao, no question”

 

Before she could say anything, white lightning crawled up Patrick’s arm and quickly the Little Sister was now a brown haired green-eyed child. The man didn’t have a moment to say anything or even feel anything, the sound of an ungodly screech filled the room. The little girl screamed and pointed down the hall, Patrick looked just in time to see a familiar red light before he found his feet and took off down the hall carrying the little girl with him. The screech followed him as he ran, the little girl sobbing loudly and probably alerting every Splicer in the area that there was some ADAM to be hunted down. Thankfully Patrick found a Little Sister station and helped her into it, once she was out of sight Patrick tried running again only for searing pain to shoot up his body as the vampire drill pierced his shoulder. The man dropped to the ground with a scream, both from the wound and from the Big Sister slamming her foot onto Patrick’s right leg to keep him in place.

 

It felt like the Splicer all over again, only this time there would be no Elisa to come to the rescue and all Patrick could do was stare up at the vampire drill as it came down. But no, the reporter was wrong, because there was a blur that slammed into the Big Sister and Patrick found himself staring at the Big Brother beating the ever-loving shit out of the Big Sister; the Big Sister screamed and thrashed around, attempting to plunge the vampire drill into the Big Brother while the Big Brother screamed back sounding something akin to a rusted metal machine starting up again and he himself used his blade as a sort of shield. Patrick scrambled to get up, wheezing in pain as his shoulder stung and he wondered if it was broken.

 

Before Patrick could really run, the Big Sister let out one last scream before Patrick watched the Big Brother’s blade slice right into her gut, immediately sawing the creature in half and leaving a large pool of God only knew what at the Big Brother’s feet. Time seemed to stand still again; Patrick’s body started to seize up and his knees buckled, he felt panic build in his chest as his feet refused to listen to anything he needed to and when the yellow light fell on him all Patrick could see was him meeting the same fate as the Big Sister. The Big Brother turned to face Patrick, the man whimpered as it started to make his way towards Patrick and Patrick cursed his body, why the hell wouldn’t it listen to him?! Patrick was pretty sure his heart stopped when the Big Brother stood over him, jeez the he was  _ huge _ ; sure the Big Sister was around 6 feet something and Patrick knew the Big Daddy was about 6 foot but the Big Brother was towering over both of them.

 

Patrick flinched when a low throaty sounding noise came from it, Patrick recoiled as the Big Brother knelt down and started to reach for him, was he going to strangle him? The Big Brother tilted his head, hand hovering a few inches from Patrick before he seemed to get...some kind of message and he let his hand fall to his side. Now the two were just..staring at each other-well Patrick was more staring at the blood covered blade and the Big Brother was staring at Patrick’s wound-before the same noise came from the Big Brother again. Patrick swallowed and finally lifted his gaze to the Big Brother’s...face? Yeah, face-his heart stopped when the Big Brother  barely moved his head but now Patrick was pretty sure if he could see the Big Brother’s face (oh god did they even  _ have  _ faces?) he’d be looking into his eyes.

 

Patrick swallowed before croaking out a broken “you’re bloody” 

 

He didn’t expect the Big Brother to react, he wasn’t bonded to Patrick so why would he? But regardless Patrick watched with slack jawed awe as the blade retracted and the Big Brother stood up before lumbering off somewhere, but not too far because Patrick could still hear him...wait, that sounded like water-was there water flooding the halls?! This horrifying thought had Patrick beginning to panic again and he scrambled around through his satchel (how the hell had not a single bottle or syringe shatter? Maybe Patrick’s luck lay with things not breaking as long as it wasn’t his body) and finally Patrick pulled out a health syringe; he winced as he stabbed his wrist and groaned as he felt the muscle and flesh begin to heal rapidly, the sound of the water stopped and was replaced with fast moving footsteps; Patrick felt his panic return as the Big Brother appeared around the corner of a hallway...void of blood-what? He blinked and looked up as he towered over Patrick once again, the Big Brother’s suit was wet and void of blood….well, at least as best as he could-had he  _ washed  _ his suit because Patrick had mentioned the Big Brother was covered in blood?

 

The Big Brother made a new sound, a soft almost breathy low noise that reminded Patrick of one of those wooden train whistles but at a lower pitch and recoiled again as the Big Brother knelt in front of him again. Patrick’s body felt healed, why the hell wasn’t he running? That’s all he could think as the Big Brother reached for Patrick again, the man let out a whimper and shrank further in on himself; the Big Brother stopped once more, the same soft noise repeated...was he trying to console Patrick? Reassure him of something? He wasn’t sure but he didn’t flinch this time as the gloved hand touched his shoulder, the wound now fully healed and only a damaged shirt remained. Another noise, Patrick assumed it was one of contentment, and the Big Brother stood back up but kept his focus on Patrick still; the man stared back for a few awkward moments, what was the Big Brother waiting for? What had he wanted in the first place? 

 

Hesitantly Patrick stood up on shaky legs, his neck was honestly starting to hurt from how he had to look crane his neck just to even look up at the Big Brother but the two remained that way for a few more moments again. Patrick’s throat felt dry when he swallowed, he started to shuffle away a few inches, the Big Brother showing no signs of attacking or...really anything to be honest. He swallowed again, still keeping his eyes on the Big Brother as he finally took a 5 steps back exact, all the Big Brother did was just watch him walk; Patrick had no idea what the hell possessed him to do it, but despite his gut telling him he was okay Patrick whirled around and hauled ass like the devil was after him. There was a sharp shriek that followed as he entered a corridor leading to another building, it sounded confused and pained and for a brief second Patrick regretted running from the creature but that was written off as him being lonely and for a moment seeing a possible companion.

 

_ Don’t be fucking stupid, Stump, that thing wouldn’t hesitate to fly into a rage and fucking end you  _ Patrick skidded to a halt once he entered the hallway to the next building, he gave his surroundings a quick once over before running to the left  _ I’ve got to get this evidence to Elisa before something fucks me up and I end up losing it all. _

 

Patrick walked quickly but cautiously, so far it seemed like he’d cleared most of the Splicers out of this building and all Patrick needed to do was avoid the ballroom area and he’d be fine...just in case though, Patrick flicked his wrist and switched his abilities to the Electrobolt; nothing like a fried Splicer to stink up a room. Neon signs illuminated the main foyer once Patrick reached it, he wrinkled his nose at the strange overwhelmingly sweet scent that was filling the air and upon looking up Patrick stared in wonder at a large bouquet of roses….fuck, that meant that fucking Spider Splicer Elisa had talked about having an obsession with roses was probably lurking around. He cursed and quickly scanned his area again, was there a  Little Sister station nearby? Patrick slowly made his way the room beneath a grand staircase, luck seemed to be on his side as he saw the familiar bronze front of the Little Sister station; he knocked on it twice and waited with anxious silence, he smiled once a familiar red-haired little girl’s head popped up.

 

“Patrick!” she smiled at him and made grabby hands.

 

“Hey you” Patrick carefully pulled her down and hugged her, crap what was her name-right! “How are you, Molly?”

 

“I’m good!” she giggled and rocked back and forth on her feet when Patrick set her down “do you have more paper stuff for me to bring back to Elisa?”

 

“Why yes I do” Patrick handed her the large folder and, though hesitate, he handed her the little stack of photos “This is very important okay? Make sure Elisa gets it”

 

“I will!” Molly giggled again as Patrick picked her up and helped her into the tunnel “bye Patrick! Come see us soon!”

 

“I will” Patrick waited until she disappeared from sight and hurried out of the room.

 

He went over a mental list of all the evidence he had as he made his way to an elevator; files and reports on the Big Daddy and Big Sister experiments along with the Little Sister program, logs on what the ADAM can and has done along with Plasmids, and plenty of evidence that would slam Urie into the ground (if he was still alive when Patrick got back up to the surface). Of course he knew his main target was Urie’s office itself, he was still trying to figure out how to get down there but so far even Elisa couldn’t find a way around Urie’s security. Patrick pulled his map out again and chewed on his lip as he made a plan where he should try checking next, there was still the garden area Elisa had told him about (“Sarah’s probably there still, assuming she hasn’t starved herself by locking herself in with all those plants”) so maybe there was a place-

 

Patrick’s blood turned cold as the elevator stopped on the 3rd floor and he was met with the sight of a Big Daddy and Little Sister, they were standing on the other side of room and at the moment the Little Sister was busy gathering ADAM so Patrick hadn’t been noticed yet. The door, however, slid open with a piercing screech and he felt his stomach drop when both Little Sister and Big Daddy turned to look at him. If Patrick’s luck could get any shittier he was sure that it was, his gun was out of ammo and he was running low on EVE shots so even if he wanted to use the electrobolt he doubted it’d last long

 

“ _ Look Mr. Bubbles, he came from an elevator!”  _ the Little Sister giggled and waved at Patrick, the needle gun made Patrick feel a little sick but he waved back anyway.

 

He watched the two of them exit the room before he allowed himself to breathe again, he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath in. Patrick exited the elevator and took in his surroundings, the room was busted to shit-no surprise-but he took his time to look around and found a 2 med kits, Patrick shoved them in his satchel but paused when he heard a soft thud beside him. It was the Big Brother doll, it probably fell out when Patrick shoved the kits in his satchel; with a sigh he knelt down and picked it up, pausing and hugging it tightly to his chest again. He thought back to the fight with the Big Sister and the Splicer; the Big Brother both times had only stared at Patrick, the second time though it had been the first time Patrick had allowed it to even come close to him and touch him, but both times the Big Brother hadn’t attempted to harm him.

 

_ Where is it now?  _ Patrick stood back up, cradling the doll close to him and exited the room  _ Is it trying to find me or has it given up now? I’ve just been running from it ever since it first saw me, I’d give up if I were him. _

 

The Big Daddy and Little Sister were still in the area, Patrick could hear the low groaning of the golem and chatter of the little girl; He stopped in his steps and stared at his feet, he had ammo now...and if he could aim his shots perfectly then he’d be able to take it down for sure. With a shaky breath Patrick reloaded his gun and set his satchel against the railing, he set the doll on top of it and hurried towards where he guessed the duo was currently at. The hallway opened into a large room that looked like where shops had once been, down a small set of stairs the Little Sister was currently draining ADAM from a mangled Spicer Splicer. With one more breath to steel his nerves, Patrick aimed and fired right at the Big Daddy; immediately the shot rang out and the rage filled scream echoed through the room, as soon as it turned its attention to Patrick he fired electricity at it to momentarily paralyze the creature and quickly he fired more shots at it.

 

The Big Daddy didn’t stay paralyzed long and Patrick quickly jumped to the side as the Big Daddy charged at him, whirling around Patrick fired several more rounds and paralyzed the creature once more. It was rinse and repeat, EVE shots started to litter the ground and Patrick felt panic building up as he realized that he was running low on ammo; he paralyzed the Big Daddy one last time and raised his gun only for what he dreamed the most to happen, a click with no bang. He cursed loudly and turned on heel, he was too low on EVE shots and with no ammo he was a sitting duck; unfortunately, as Patrick ran down the stairs and through a corridor leading out of the room, behind he heard the enraged Big Daddy chasing after him still. There were several rooms to Patrick’s left as he ran, he threw luck at the wind and ducked into one of them, quickly diving to hide behind a bust neon sign.

 

He peeked out a little from where he was crouched and flinched as the Big Daddy appeared in sight, the Little Sister was sitting on his shoulder and it appeared that the creature had calmed down-there was no way Patrick was going to move from this spot until he was sure they were gone. Time ticked by slowly as the Little Sister swayed from side to side on the Big Daddy’s shoulders, obviously looking for Patrick, until finally she sighed and tugged on the creature’s helmet.

 

“ _ The bad man’s gone, Mr. Bubbles, we need to go get more Angels”  _

 

The two disappeared and Patrick sighed with relief, he crawled out slowly and when he peeked down the hall the two were gone; Patrick was relieved that his satchel was still where he left it, he snatched the bag up and cradled the doll close to his chest as he hurried back down the corridor. As much as Patrick really knew better, he wanted to save that little girl and it was a gamble but he was placing his chips that he’d find more ammo or maybe a Gene Bank on his way after the Big Daddy. First Patrick checked the room he’d hidden in; bottles of alcohol lay around, bits of clothes and masks lay around, and much to Patrick’s relief he found 2 EVE shots. The heavy footsteps were starting to fade and Patrick quickly raced out of the room and back down the corridor, he injected himself with an EVE shot and tossed it behind him as he entered a large room. 

 

The Little Sister and Big Daddy were standing in a doorway, Patrick noted the creature’s limp and took advantage of that; he switched his powers and shot a frost blast at the creature, it jerked only for a moment before whirling around and screaming at Patrick in rage. The fight was honestly hell for Patrick; he took advantage of the Big Daddy’s limp but that didn’t mean the creature wasn’t still ready to go down fighting, by the time Patrick finally killed it he was fairly certain he had broken ribs from being slammed and thrown into walls and possibly a sprained ankle. The Little Sister sobbed over the Big Daddy’s body as Patrick limped over; he reached out and gently took her arm, she started yelling “no!” over and over while Patrick’s arm began to glow with a white light. He placed his hand on her forehead and a white light filled the room.

 

“There you go, Kiddo” Patrick said, smiling at her gently once she was cured “feel better now?”

 

The little girl nodded, her wide blue eyes held concern in them “thank you mister...but you’re hurt bad”

 

“It’s nothing kiddo” Patrick patted her head and looked at the Big Daddy “you better head back to one of those stations, okay? Dr. Yao’s waiting for you”

 

“Okay” she turned but stopped “mister, is that yours?”

 

Patrick blinked and looked over his shoulder at the wall with the large crack in it, laying on the floor was the Big Brother doll “oh, yeah that’s mine”

 

“You better pick it up so you don’t lose it” the little girl waved at Patrick and ran out of the room back down the corridor.

 

Patrick let out a pained wheeze he’d been holding, he lightly pressed his hand over his ribs and screeched at the pain that shot through him; definitely broken, fuck. He sighed and limped over to the wall, picking up the doll and cradling it as close as he could to himself without his chest feeling as if it would burst. How had he still managed to hold on to this thing? The satchel made sense, it was wrapped around him and so far had the strap hadn’t ripped but this doll had managed to get thrown around and fallen from his bag in hasty moments. 

 

“It’s good company” Patrick mumbled to himself and turned to head down the hallway the Big Daddy had been heading down-

 

The Big Daddy was standing up again; Patrick’s eyes widened and he didn’t even have time to scream as it charged at him, the Big Daddy slammed swung its drill and Patrick went flying across the room into the glass window. He screamed as his ribs burst with pain, oh God he was going to die wasn’t he? The Big Daddy roared and charged again, Patrick’s body began to seize up and refused to listen to the now screaming man, this thing should be dead there’s no way it should be alive! Patrick shut his eyes tightly and curled into a ball, the Big Brother doll squished against his face as he waited for the Big Daddy to stomp his head into the ground or stab the drill through his gut. A scream ripped through the room, Patrick opened his eyes to see the Big Daddy with a familiar triangular blade piercing its chest and shoving it away from Patrick. 

 

The Big Daddy roared and started its drill up once it caught its balance again but the Big Brother didn’t give it a chance to use it, driving the blade into the Big Daddy’s arm and pushing it on to its back where the Big Brother began to repeatedly stab it. This was too much for Patrick, the Big Daddy wailing and the Big Brother screaming rang in his skull and despite the pain he forced himself onto his feet and ran best he could with his limp, the Big Brother doll still clutched tightly in his hand.Patrick’s lungs were begging him to stop, to take a rest, but he’d be damned if he did that while there was a chance the Big Daddy would get back up (even though he doubted that, the Big Brother practically went ballistic attacking it!) but when his body finally collapsed to the ground it seemed as though some deity was giving him a break because nearby he recognized a health station sitting on the wall. 

 

Patrick forced his body to stand again, he limped to the station and slammed his fist on it causing a shot to fall out and Patrick immediately stabbed his arm. A new pain shot through Patrick’s body and he screamed in both surprise in pain, it reminded him of when his DNA had been re-written by the ADAM; he dropped back to the ground and choked on cries and gasps, clawing at his ribs as they began to heal and reattach to one another. Everything started to sound as if his ears were stuffed with cotton, the distant sound of running footsteps was coming closer and to Patrick’s own confusion he was praying that it was the Big Brother. Slowly Patrick’s body was beginning to go numb, the cotton feeling began to fade and all that was left over was a sick feeling that he needed to vomit again. 

 

Patrick blinked and stared up at the health machine for a few seconds as he started to come back to reality, he didn’t hear the footsteps anymore and now as he sat up trying to locate where he dropped the doll (he felt a little foolish, he was an adult after all! But it gave him a comfort he couldn’t explain and he was afraid he’d lost it when he ran) he wondered if it had just been his heart pounding in his ears. He spotted it laying by the entrance and snatched it up quickly, holding it close and letting out a shaky sigh. Patrick pulled his map from his pocket and checked it; he recognized the window where he currently was, that meant that he was close to medic bay where he’d met the crazed Dr. Martinez (he shuddered at the memory of all those mangled corpses). 

 

Patrick chewed on his lip in thought when he felt more than heard what was heading down the hall; he whirled around and tensed up seeing the Big Brother standing in the corridor staring at back, neither moved for a few moments ‘till Patrick carefully folded the map and pocketed it once more. The Big Brother stared still before he started slowly walking towards Patrick, the man was strung like a bow string as the Big Brother stood to tower over him; the Big Brother tilted his head and hesitantly reached for Patrick again, this time the man stood still as the gloved hand brush some of Patrick’s hair from his head. The gentleness of the gesture caught Patrick off guard, making him take a step back and wincing, the Big Brother only made the same content noise he had made before and dropped his hand back to his side. 

 

Patrick swallowed dryly and shifted around  _ He’s not hurting me-for fuck’s sake he’s been taking down people trying to kill me ever since I saw him! He didn’t try hurting me just now, fucking stop being a pussy, Stump!  _

 

“Thank you” Patrick croaked out, flinching a little when the Big Brother nodded “um...can you...come with me somewhere? Please?”

 

That seemed to surprise the Big Brother (at least Patrick assumed that the Big Brother was surprised when it took a step back), but nodded its head. Patrick gave it a small smile but that quickly disappeared when the Big Brother knelt down and suddenly placed both hands on either side of Patrick’s waist; the thing smelled like something rotten mixed with seaweed and the closeness of it had Patrick panicking.

 

“Wha-what are you doing?” he shoved the Big Brother’s hands away from him and took a few steps back “What are you doing?” 

 

The Big Brother made a noise, Patrick wasn’t sure but he guessed it was supposed to be confusion.

 

“Were you trying to pick me up?” the Big Brother nodded and took a step towards Patrick, Patrick took one back “no! I mean-no, I’m okay I can walk just fine”

 

Another sound, it sounded lower than a Big Daddy’s and Patrick wondered if it was...disappointment? The Big Brother didn’t try reaching for him again though so Patrick took that as a sign he understood, with that in mind Patrick turned and started heading up a set of stairs with the Big Brother following close behind. 


	2. Chapter 2

##  Ch. 2

Patrick was so utterly confused; he’d wandered with the Big Brother until he reached an area that Elisa had marked on his map as safe and against his gut feeling he curled into a ball with his satchel as a pillow. He’d clutched the Big Brother doll close to him still, ignoring the way Big Brother kept tilting his head whenever he caught Patrick holding it, and soon the man was asleep. When Patrick had awoken he jumped and scrambled away because the Big Brother was sitting right next to him, Patrick had even cuddled closer to him in his sleep apparently; the Big Brother just looked at Patrick as the man gathered himself in his embarrassment and said they needed to get moving again. Patrick had found a still working watch in a party room on the corpse of a Splicer, upon seeing it he found that it was currently 4:13 A.M., he had been in Rapture for 4 days now. 

 

It was around 11ish when Patrick needed to take a rest that he went over the yesterday’s and the events that occured hours before; 

 

  1. The Big Brother had protected him and killed anything that tried hurting him
  2. The Big Brother had checked on Patrick when he had been hurt 
  3. When Patrick had woken up he’d basically been snuggling up into the Big Brother’s lap and the Big Brother hadn’t killed him or abandoned him in his sleep
  4. When they ran into what Patrick called a ‘nest’ of Splicers the Big Brother made sure Patrick was behind him at all times and killed all of the enemies
  5. At the current moment, the Big Brother was not so subtly scooting closer to Patrick and he was allowing it since all the other had been doing was protecting Patrick.



 

This all brought a new question to Patrick though….why was the Big Brother helping him? He chewed on his lip in thought before deciding that rest time was over and it was time to get going again, he thought maybe he’d found a way to get to the gardens and he’d rather test that theory now rather than get there and find out they had to find a whole new way to get in. So far it seemed Splicers had started to avoid them and the occasional ones that did come after them were sliced up by the Big Brother before Patrick could even try shocking or freezing them. The man supposed that having the extra help was nice, not having to constantly look around him for the fear of Splicers was a relief on the anxieties...and Patrick wouldn’t really admit it but the company was also appreciated. 

 

The duo reached the medic bay, much to Patrick’s dismay, and made their way to the main foyer; what terrified Patrick the most was the lack of Splicers as they wandered the area, even the occasional skittering sounds of them were none to be heard and it was getting on the small man’s nerves. Patrick wasn’t sure but he felt as if the Big Brother could tell he was scared because after awhile he moved to walk beside instead of behind Patrick, even walking a little closer than Patrick would’ve been okay with (he was still wary of him, the Big Brother had no reason to be protecting him! He didn’t have the Little Sister’s ADAM or even resembled a child, he was clearly a grown man even if the Big Brother towered over Patrick). Soon Patrick found himself having to return to the medical labs of Dr. Martinez, at that point he almost reached for the Big Brother’s hand but stopped himself and instead jogged a few feet ahead. The Big Brother wouldn’t care if Patrick was a little bit ahead, right? It was like a Big Daddy or Big Sister, so it wouldn’t care...yet Patrick was feeling a twinge of guilt at the thought that maybe he’d just upset the creature by hurrying away from him after he’d had moved to walk beside Patrick.

 

He looked over his shoulder in case, the Big Brother was still there but he seemed to be walking a little slower now...had Patrick hurt-no! Of course not, Patrick shook his head furiously but still began to slow down until the Big Brother was a little closer again. The room the two entered was too dark for Patrick’s liking, it felt even worse when the Big Brother’s light shone like a flashlight around and showed several medical tables and instruments strewn about. Cautiously Patrick entered the room, the Big Brother made a low noise that no doubt was meant to be disapproval but the man could’ve cared less, he needed to meet that Sarah lady now and get the hell out of Rapture. The room opened into another area and with Mr. flashlight at Patrick’s side they made their way through the lab with only a few Splicers coming out of the dark to scare the hell out of Patrick and be sliced in half by the Big Brother.

 

“Where are most of them?” Patrick wondered out loud as they descended to another room, he glanced at the Big Brother for a moment and realized he had shrugged “Oh I meant-”  _ I hadn’t meant for you to even answer me, can you understand me?  _ “-I just meant that when I was here...maybe two days ago there was a lot of Splicers but now it just...seems like there’s none”

 

The Big Brother nodded, he made a sound that Patrick took as understanding. 

 

“Have you ever been here before?” Patrick blinked in surprise, why was he even talking? He couldn’t even understand the Big Brother for fuck’s sake

 

There was another noise and the Big Brother nodded, that caught Patrick off guard.

 

“You...were you with someone?” Patrick recalled the Big Brother having a Little Sister, he didn’t catch her name though

 

Another nod and what sounded like a sad cow noise but high pitched at the end.

  
“Oh…” Patrick felt awkward now, even more when he nearly slipped on a pool of blood and flailed until the Big Brother caught him and helped him stand up again “Uh-thank you….” 

 

It nodded and let go of Patrick’s arm, it made the content noise again and Patrick found himself smiling a little.

 

“Um, have...have you been all around Rapture?” Patrick looked hesitantly around the room they’d just entered “holy fuck…”

It looked as if several barrels had been lighted in the room, scorch marks lined the walls and even ceilings; Patrick felt his breath catch as he whirled around in time to see several shadows skittering around, the Big Brother put his arm out in front of Patrick and made a low threatening growl. With trembling hands Patrick reached to his side for his gun, he’d managed to pick up some ammo when they’d reached their resting spot and from how it looked there might be more Splicers in here than the Big Brother could handle. More skittering behind him, Patrick found himself practically turning in a full circle as chitters and sick giggles filled the air.

 

“Little fishy, little fishy! Got a daddy now don’t you?” his head snapped up to see a pair of glowing eyes, a Spider Splicer “no, not a daddy, a right old bitch!” with that she lunged at the duo.

 

The Big Brother let out an angered roar and swung his blade, slicing through the Spider Splicer’s shirt and causing her innards to fly out of her as she hit the ground. Patrick heard the sound of running footsteps and quickly shot bolts of electricity as he whirled around to see 3 Splicers running at them with monkey wrenches held up. Patrick fired shots ‘till they dropped while the Big Brother was now taking care of some Splicers of his own; it seemed like the whole room was coming to life with deranged men and women. Patrick was starting to run low on ammo and he had no EVE shots available, he’d fired his lost shot before grabbing a monkey wrench and used it to bash the last few Splicers down.

 

“Come on!” Patrick shouted over his shoulder to the Big Brother.

 

The two ran out of the room into a bottom level of the medic bay, Patrick darted towards a corridor that if he remembered right would lead towards the security levels and if he could get to a turret then-Patrick screeched as the Big Brother grabbed his arm and jerked him another way, he shouted several protests at him but was ignored; behind Patrick could hear the sound of gunfire and shrieked as bullets started whizzing past the two, the Big Brother jerked Patrick again into a room and slammed the door shut. Patrick stumbled once his arm was released, he clutched at his chest wheezing and glared lightly at the Big Brother.

 

“Wha-what was that for?! I-You don’t even know where I was going! I was going to the security bay-”

 

The Big Brother made a low noise that silenced Patrick, it sounded threatening and for a moment Patrick was terrified it was about to turn on him, it looked at Patrick and made the soft train whistle noise before moving from the door.

 

Patrick shifted around “I was going to head to the security bay and try getting a turret or drone, what if those Splicers get through the door? I only have a monkey wrench and I doubt you can keep protecting me”

 

Apparently that wasn’t the wisest thing to say because the Big Brother’s light turned an orangish shade and he let out a low growl.

 

Patrick held his hands up, backing away “okay okay! I take it back, I take it back”

 

The light turned yellow again and the Big Brother repeated the train whistle sound, reaching for Patrick but stopping when the man recoiled. 

 

“I-look thank you, again, thank you okay? For protecting me again but...please don’t...don’t touch me” Patrick felt guilt creeping in as the Big Brother seemed to deflate a little, could he actually feel the same way regular people could?

 

The guilt stayed in Patrick’s gut as he followed the Big Brother over to a vent, he gave him a questioning look but squealed when he was lifted up and found himself being pushed into the opening.

 

“Wa-wait! What about you? You can’t fit in here” Patrick wriggled forward and tried turning around only to find himself twisting at painful angles “What are you doing?” 

 

A noise, this one sounding annoyed, and the Big Brother pointed ahead of Patrick.

 

The man turned and looked for a few seconds, it was just a straight passageway “You want me to go all the way?”

 

The Big Brother nodded.

 

Patrick bit his lip “but...but what about you? I thought you were going to stay with me” 

 

The same train whistle sound and the Big Brother reached up, hesitated, then gently squeezed Patrick’s ankle lightly

 

Patrick assumed it was supposed to be a comforting gesture of ‘Don’t worry’ “O...okay, guess I’ll see you on the other side then, right?”

 

The Big Brother nodded and disappeared from sight, Patrick swallowed his fear down and started crawling forward. It was a little difficult due to his satchel getting squished against the vent wall and catching on nails occasionally, Patrick swore as he felt his pant leg get snagged and tear at one point; as Patrick crawled further he started to notice that ahead was getting lighter, his heart jumped into his throat as he came to a stop and saw that the wall on his right was a grate. Cautiously he leaned forward and peered into an office, the walls were splattered with blood and Patrick was pretty sure he saw a corpse hanging from the ceiling. Patrick wrinkled his nose and started to crawl forward again but jumped hearing a sudden static blast, slamming his head into the ceiling and cursing loudly. 

He backed up a little and peeked into the office again; the static came from somewhere out of sight, Patrick sighed and made a mental note to try coming back here once he regrouped with the Big Brother. Finally Patrick found a drop in the vent, he peered down and felt sick seeing only darkness; how far was the drop? Was the Big Brother even there yet? Patrick’s anxieties started telling him it had left him again for being snappy, or it had led him to a room filled with Splicers and now he was about to be cut up-a yellow light appeared in the vent and Patrick laughed with relief.

 

“Hey, there’s an office I saw while I was crawling. I need to check it out, please stay put okay?” he called down. 

 

A disapproving noise followed him as he started backing up, Patrick prayed the Big Brother really would stay put and soon he was back at the grate; he banged on it a few times before it finally gave and flew into the room with a loud crash, Patrick was starting to think he was just meant to be a Splicer magnet. He awkwardly wiggled out onto the desk and rolled to the ground with a painful thud, Patrick cursed again and stood up; the office had clearly been ransacked and for a moment Patrick thought he could find some files or something only to see several broken safes.

 

Oh well, Patrick thought with a shrug, a guy could wish; quickly he located the sound of the static, a shortwave radio lay beneath the shattered remains of a chair. The had stopped once Patrick picked it up, he furrowed his brow but stuffed the device into his satchel and returned to the vents. Thankfully the Big Brother indeed was still where he’d been left, Patrick called out a “hey!” and was briefly blinded by yellow light; Patrick wasn’t sure if it was a good idea but he crawled forward a little more and with a push he dropped out of the vent and flailed around in the air. It was awkward how the Big Brother caught him, Patrick’s upper half was clinging to the Big Brother’s shoulders while his legs were half tangled and half clinging to the Big Brother’s upper arm. Patrick’s cheeks turned red in embarrassment and wriggled around to get out of the Big Brother’s hold, he was placed on his feet and huffed while he fixed himself.

 

“That office wasn’t anything special, but I found a shortwave radio. I’m sure it’ll come in handy” Patrick paused and felt his face burn again, why was he talking at if the Big Brother knew why Patrick was down in Rapture? “Come on, I need to get to the gardens”

 

This time Patrick let the Big Brother go in front of him, distantly he could hear the Splicers screaming and found himself standing as close as he could to the Big Brother’s side; the scorch marks seemed to keep reappearing around the area, Patrick wondered if there were any Splicers with flamethrowers or maybe grenades hiding in the dark (again he thought about Dr. Martinez and shuddered, she’d been gung-ho happy firing her gatling gun at Patrick and he could almost still feel the heat of the grenade blast that he barely managed to avoid). The two walked through rooms and hallways in silence, occasionally Patrick would bump into the Big Brother and to be truthful despite the awful smell the man would somewhat lean against the creature before jerking away and hugging himself.

“Where are we going?” Patrick finally asked once they’d passed the familiar front doors of Dr. Martinez’s lab “I need to get to the gardens, where’re you taking me?” 

 

The Big Brother didn’t respond, Patrick felt annoyance bloom in his chest.

 

“Hey!” He jogged a few steps and stopped in front of the Big Brother “Where are you taking me? Are we even near the gardens or are you just dragging me in the wrong direction?” 

 

The Big Brother looked down at Patrick and let out the familiar warning growl, was he actually threatening Patrick?

 

“Fine, fucking be that way” Patrick turned and started to walk away but squealed when he was picked up like a doll “Hey! Put me down, put me down! I told you not to touch me!” 

 

The Big Brother didn’t respond, just shifted Patrick around in his arms and the man found himself being carried bridal style towards a set of doors; Patrick curled in on himself, staring at his knees and trying to keep the dizzying feeling in his head down to a minimum, why the hell did this thing reek to high heaven? The doors opened and Patrick felt his gut twist, the room was nearly pitch black and the sound of something dripping could be heard from inside; he whimpered as they entered the room, the Big Brother’s light acting as the sole light source and reminded Patrick of a lighthouse during a foggy night. The dripping sound turned out to be a few broken pipes, of course Patrick tried thinking of a rational reason why they were busted and to no surprise he saw several dead Splicers in nurse and doctor uniforms. 

 

Somewhere behind them Patrick heard skittering; he gasped and pressed closer to the Big Brother, shutting his eyes tightly and trying to steady his breathing, kind of hard when you’re already struggling to handle a rotten stench-more skittering and Patrick whimpered, digging his fingers into his arms and starting to wish his voice could work so he could tell the Big Brother to put him the fuck down. Why was he still carrying Patrick anyway? Surely he could hear what the man was hearing, it was loud and crystal clear and...and maybe it was just in Patrick’s head due to the terrifying darkness all around them. 

 

“Do you hear that?” Patrick finally croaked out, the whisper so soft he almost didn’t hear himself.

 

The Big Brother slowed down and tilted his head before shaking it, Patrick bit his lip embarrassed.

 

“Maybe...maybe it’s just in my head then” Patrick wriggled around a little and glanced around as best as limited neck range would allow him “it sounded like something crawling around”

 

Again the Big Brother shook his head.

 

Patrick let out a shaky sigh “can you-can you at least put me down now?”

The Big Brother made an amused noise, Patrick started to demand what the Big Brother found so funny when he noticed the sign above the circular doors ahead of them; Tea Gardens, Patrick felt a mixture of relief and joy seeing the yellow letters but another part of him held guilt still. The Big Brother had been to the medic bay and before they’d been interrupted by the Splicers Patrick had asked if he’d been all around Rapture, he’d known where to go the whole time and Patrick had just been snapping at him the whole time.

 

_ It might be easier if I could understand him  _ Patrick thought as he was set down, his shoes sinking into the soft soil  _ I could even ask why he’s helping me  _

 

The gardens were beautiful, much to Patrick’s surprise, and it was delightfully warm compared to the cold halls of most of the buildings Patrick had been in. Trees Patrick recognized and didn’t loomed over the two of them, bushes with beautiful flowers and bright leaves surrounded paths and Patrick was fairly sure he could hear running water; was there supposed to be a river somewhere or was that another leaking pipe from some kind of fight? Patrick wandered around taking in all the sights wondering how this place seemed so untouched while the rest of Rapture looked like it had gone through a civil war, unbeknownst to him there was something clanking around the gardens and it wasn’t until he turned a corner that he saw it; on one of the reports Patrick had read about a type of Big Daddy called ‘Rosie’ that wandered the gardens and currently he was staring right at one. 

 

He gasped and quickly stumbled back; the Big Brother had been staying near the main entrance area and immediately went to Patrick’s side, he pulled Patrick close to him again and moved Patrick’s hair from his face as if to see if Patrick was hurt. Part of the man was internally laughing at the concern but outside Patrick shoved at the Big Brother and stumbled back a few steps, yes Patrick’ had allowed him to touch him but now Patrick was all pins and needles with no desire to be touched by the Big Brother. The creature made a concerned sound, again reaching for the man but stopping and growling once the Rosie came into sight from around the corner of a pillar covered in leaves; Patrick felt panic building up as the Rosie lifted its head in the direction of the two, would it attack them on sight because of the Big Brother? 

 

He didn’t want to test that theory out; Patrick grabbed the Big Brother’s sleeve only for a moment to tug on it and ran towards another path away from the Rosie, he didn’t pause to see if he was being followed or not until he was through another set of doors and standing in a room filled with vines and a tiny pond nearby with a waterfall spilling down onto rocks. Patrick leaned against a wall to catch his breath for a moment, shit this place had pollen and that was fucking his lungs up; a few moments later and the Big Brother appeared through the doors, Patrick was ready to chew its head off but stopped when the Big Brother held out the doll. Cheeks dusted with pink, Patrick took it with a soft “thank you” and placed it back in his satchel. The Big Brother just nodded, making the content sound again; Patrick sighed and scanned the room he’d just entered, it was much larger and looked like another recreational area-

 

“ _ What the hell are you doing with that thing?”  _ Patrick squealed and jumped, whirling around but seeing no one else in the room.

 

“What-who’s there?” Patrick glanced at the Big Brother, his light had gone dark orange again and Patrick feared a rage moment “Where are you?”

 

“ _ Who am I? My dear sir, I should be asking you that! As for where I am, you can’t see me right now because you’re not in the right area. I however can see you because I’ve finally been able to get the security cameras of Arcadia to work”  _ Patrick blinked and looked at his side, the satchel? “ _ If that’s where your shortwave radio is, then yes that’s where I am” _

 

Patrick pulled it out and peered at a small picture of a woman with long brown hair “hello?”

 

“ _ Hello”  _ her tone was cautious, Patrick glanced up at the Big Brother then back at the radio “ _ I’ll ask again, that the hell are you doing with that thing? He shouldn’t even be in my gardens, only the Rosies should” _

 

Patrick furrowed his brow “He-he can go where he wants, ma’am, he isn’t doing anything”

 

“ _ Excuse me!”  _ Patrick flinched, shit that was the wrong thing to say “ _ are these your trees? Did you create all this plant life? No, you didn't’, so don’t you tell me what that thing can and can’t do. What that thing  _ can  _ do is go outside of Rapture and drown” _

 

“Hey!” Patrick shouted, surprised at the anger in his tone “Ma’am I’m sorry that I spoke out but you’re the one being cruel!”

 

“ _ Do you talk that way to your mother?”  _ the woman snapped, Patrick felt his stomach grow cold

 

“My mother has been dead for several years actually, I haven’t had the pleasure of chatting with her for some time” 

 

The Woman’s image flickered a little, followed a soft “oh..”

 

Okay, Patrick needed to wrangle this conversation in a direction that would help him “Look, miss? I’m sorry and we’ve clearly gotten off on the wrong foot so please let me start over. My name’s Patrick Stump, I’m a reporter and I was sent down to Rapture-”

 

“ _ A topsider? How on Earth did you hear about Rapture?”  _ the woman sounded shocked but the silence that followed felt as if she had realized the answer herself “ _ oh, my God, he did it didn’t he? Went topside after all and went and got caught by the cops didn’t he?” _

 

“I-are you talking about Urie?” shit, was this Sarah? “Are you Sarah Orzechowski?”

 

“ _ What if I am, are you going to drag me in cuffs to the topside?”  _

 

“No! No, of course not” wrangle this conversation back on track, Stump “Look Miss Orzechowski, Brendon’s been arrested like you said. Some lawyer guy found a long string of crimes linked to Brendon’s family and since he’s the sole living Urie found he’s been put to court. I’m down here to get evidence about whether he’s connected to the crimes or not”

 

Sarah laughed, it was a cold and unkind one “ _ really, you think I’m going to believe that? Say the truth, buddy, you’re working with the cops to pin everything on Brendon aren’t you?” _

 

“I-”

 

“ _ Oh don’t bother, I know it’s true”  _ Sarah laughed again followed by a sigh “ _ I heard a few Splicers while I’ve been hiding, talking about someone from the top side walking around with ‘the bastard of the Big Daddy and Big Sister’. I’ve you a few times in the labs, going through files and reports and giving them to those little girls. Tell me, Stump, what’s a reporter helping the authorities for?” _

 

Patrick sighed, this lady really wasn’t making explaining easy for him “I’m supposed to get dirt from Rapture, the experiments and every other ungodly thing that’s happened down here. I’m trying to find my way to Urie’s private office and I’ll take whatever else information I can on my way”

 

Sarah mumbled a ‘humph’ before static started to kick in “ _ God-!....ammit…...ear m…...ump?” _

 

“Miss Orzechowski? Miss Orzechowski?” Patrick shook the radio like an idiot, as if that would clear up the signal “I can’t hear you anymore, what’s going on?”

 

“ _....amn…..yan’s ruin….sign…..go t….farm-”  _  the signal went dead and Patrick stared at the device blankly.

 

“Sarah?” he mumbled again with no response, Patrick sighed and pocketed the device “farm...farm...she said farm...maybe it’s on the map?” 

 

He pulled it out and checked near the gardens, to his dismay there were two spots marked  _ The Tree farm  _ and  _ The Farmer’s Market.  _ Which one had Sarah been talking about? Well either way, Patrick would have to go through the Farmer’s Market to get to the Tree Farm so he’d maybe find Sarah in one of those areas.

  
“Alright, come on we need to move...ahead…” Patrick looked at the Big Brother confused, he was looking away from Patrick and looked a little deflated “He-hey, what’s the matter?”

 

It made no noise, only shrugged.

 

“Hey” Patrick turned to face him and walked a little closer “what-fuck, you can’t even tell me what’s wrong because I can’t understand you…” 

 

The Big Brother looked down at Patrick and made the train whistle sound again, that shouldn’t have upset Patrick the way it did.

 

“No, it’s not okay because you’ve been helping me and yes you’ve been scaring the fuck out of me and you do need to work on the me telling you not to touch me but you’re clearly not okay-” it hit Patrick like a slap “what Miss Orzechowski said upset you, didn’t it?”

 

A short quick sound was Patrick’s answer.

 

The man let out a soft sigh and stepped closer again, hypocritically he reached out and gently placed his hand on the Big Brother’s stomach “Hey, it’s okay. She can be angry at me for asking you to come with me but I want you here with me. If she’s going to try and hurt you when we meet her…” Patrick paused then shrugged “well-well I’ll protect you then like you’ve been protecting me”

 

It was stupid and Patrick felt foolish for making such a promise when he’d only known this creature for not even a full day but it seemed to help, the Big Brother made what Patrick could call a throaty purr.

 

“Right, okay” Patrick quickly stepped away again and felt his face flush a little when the Big Brother made the noise again “knock it off, I’m just saying because you’ve been protecting me that it’s only fair”

 

The two made their way through the tea gardens, Patrick was still in wonder at all the flora and made a mental note to talk to Elisa about the place (she told Patrick about Sarah so of course she knew about the gardens already but hey, it was pretty). What started bothering Patrick was that so far the only thing remotely close to an enemy Patrick had seen was the Rosie and maybe the security drones if you could really call them enemies. Patrick would have the Big Brother wait whenever he found areas that were too narrow for him to follow after, he found a nice amount of cash and the occasional dead body (not a Splicer, they had guns but Patrick always noted the strange amount of leaves they had in their hair) with some ammo on them. Ahead of the path the two were following was another set of doors, Patrick almost went through when he noticed a faint shine out of his peripheral vision.

 

“Oh?” Patrick walked over and knelt beside the bench, pushing aside several vines to pick up an audio diary “What are you?”

 

He pushed play and a woman’s voice came from the recording;  _ “They dress up in leaves and call themselves the Saturnine. Please. They drink human blood and chant-- ‘Harness the flame, Harness the mist!’ and believe they are touched by the ancients gods. Hah. An aging bunch of frat boys, tilting back goblets of Plasmids and calling it ambrosia”  _ the disgust in her tone was obvious.

 

Now Patrick was on edge as he removed the tape from the device, The Saturnine? Great, so there was a cult in Arcadia, of course this paradise had to have a snake lurking around in it. Patrick hesitated now as he entered through the doors, the Big Brother was again walking close to him like a shadow making occasional growling sounds; was it in Patrick’s head again or was he really hearing voices? Was he really hearing a woman shriek complaints about a poison or was it due to paranoia, was he really hearing several men bark and yell at each other in intelligible gibberish? No actually, Patrick came to found as they walked up a hill, it was not in his head; immediately the group of what Patrick assumed were The Saturnine turned to meet their guests, they let out screams of rage and immediately charged at them.

 

Patrick reacted quickly, firing several shots and bringing down 2 of the 5 Saturnine, the BIg Brother smashed the other into the nearby wall and decapitated them. Patrick felt his stomach lurch seeing the heads roll down the hill, honestly out of everything he’d seen in Rapture he was surprised that that had him throwing up; he flinched feeling the Big Brother place his hand gently on Patrick’s upper back, he spit up what was left of the bile in his mouth and let out a shaky breath before standing back up.

 

“M’fine, really I’m fine” Patrick mumbled, wincing at the burn in his throat “let’s get going okay? We’re going to have to deal with more of these sick fucks and I want to make sure Miss Orzechowski’s okay”

 

The Big Brother nodded though Patrick had a feeling he could’ve given less of a shit about the woman; the flora had started to take over much of the park it seemed and made locating the Gene Bank that was near a wall hard to see if not for the neon red light shining beneath the plants, the money came in handy and Patrick healed himself and stocked up on EVE shots. It burned a little as Patrick stabbed the shot, the ADAM made his throat ache worse but at least now his hands crackled with electricity and assured him that he had his second weapon back in business. More dead Saturnine’s later and Patrick was standing in the Farmer’s market; the sign and broken or plant covered stands reminded Patrick of times with his parents in the summer and spring, he smiled a little as he walked to stand underneath the bright green colored sign displaying  _ FARMER’S MARKET. _

 

“Think we can find produce?” Patrick looked over his shoulder smiling but that dropped immediately “wha...what?”

 

Patrick turned around in a quick circle, his stomach growing cold and confusion filling his head; he was gone, the Big Brother was gone and Patrick was completely alone. His mouth felt dry as he stumbled a little; no, no, the Big Brother had to be there he’d...he’d been behind Patrick only a few seconds ago right? 

_ You’re not his Little Sister, you don’t have that nasty slug in you! Why would he stay, after all he just saw you can take care of yourself  _ Patrick swallowed again and felt the panic spread through his gunt “No, no he didn't’ leave me”  _ How do you know he didn’t?  _

 

Patrick stared at the doors he entered through for a few moments, almost as if he was trying to will the Big Brother to walk through them...but that didn’t happen; he wasn’t sure why but as Patrick turned around to push on he felt a sort of...sting? Yeah, a sting in his chest; he shook his head and tried pretending that being abandoned was affecting him. He hardly knew that creature, he reminded himself as he tried avoiding the sounds of the Sartunines, he wasn’t a little sister and the Big Brother didn’t have any connection to Patrick apart from the few times they (mainly Patrick) had spoken kindly to him as if the Big Brother could respond back. A few Saturnine’s were somewhere above Patrick now, he swore as he saw the catwalk but couldn’t see anyway-

 

_ “STUMP!”  _ Patrick jumped with a startled shout and swore as the Saturnine’s screamed, jumping down and surrounding him “ _ Uh-oh” _

 

“Fucking understatement!” Patrick ducked as one of the Saturnine’s swung their gun at Patrick as if it were a bat “Motherfuck!”

 

Patrick had 3 in front of him and 2 coming at him from the back, he paralyzed one and and slammed his fist into the man’s head, sending him down and the man didn't’ come back up. Patrick stumbled out of the way as one of them swung a crowbar, he fired several shots and killed 2 that lunged at him; the man was feeling a little too cocky and cried in pain as a bullet shot through his shoulder, he whirled around to see one of the Saturnine’s aiming their pistol at him with a deranged grin. He should’ve paid attention to his surroundings, the other Saturnine seemed to appear behind him and slammed the butt of their Magnum into Patrick’s head. The man dropped with a low groan as the world began to spin, pain shot through him as the one who knocked him down slammed their foot onto his wounded shoulder.

 

“He isn't one of us, intruder! He mocks the gods with his presence! We need to kill him and now” the Saturnine put pressure on Patrick’s shoulder causing him to scream again “listen to ‘im! He’s a perfect party favor, we should keep him around and play for a little while!”

 

“Bastard, you just said we should kill him!” The pistol wielding one snorted and kicked the back of Patrick’s head “who was that huh, who was that bitch we just heard? Where is she, the heretic!”

 

_ Heretic? Are they talking about Miss Orzechowski?  _ Patrick groaned again as his head was jerked up, a slimy feeling hand gripping his hair tightly

 

“He’s got an awfully pretty face” Patrick swallowed and whimpered when the barrel was dragged along his jaw “almost like a girl’s”

 

His head was jerked back farther, Patrick began to panic as his airflow was nearly caught off “damn, you’re right about that...shame though, don’t swing that way even with a pretty face”

 

Patrick gagged as his head was released only to cry out in pain again as his head was slammed into the dirt; he screamed and began thrashing as he felt something slowly stabbing through his bullet wound, bile began to fill his throat and tears blinded his vision. The Saturnine holding him down laughed maniacally in his ear, it rattled around in his skull and the pain in shoulder worsened as what Patrick now assumed was a blade finally pierced through the other side; they had staked his shoulder to the ground and Patrick couldn’t flail without likely damaging the muscle. 

 

“He’s loud! Our gods surely can hear him” a kick to his face made him scream.

 

“Oi, look here” Patrick opened his eyes again to see the Magnum wielding Saturnine had his glasses “he’s blind! Can’t see anything without these!” 

 

Both laughed sickly and Patrick cried out as the blade was ripped out of his shoulder and he was flipped onto his back “Hold him down”

 

Patrick tried shoving the Saturnine away, the Magnum slammed into his nose causing him to cry out as blood burst from it “he’s still got some fight in him! What are you going to do? Cut him open? We can drink his blood if you do”

 

“You fucking idiot” the blade wielding man snarled, he looked back down at Patrick with a chilling grin “I’m going to remove those eyes of his, why need them if you need that novelty to see? The gods gave us him to take his eyes, obviously! You can drink all his ambrosia if you want but I want his eyes” 

 

Patrick started trying to trash again, his head pounded and his lungs were beginning to squeeze too tightly with lack of oxygen “Stop moving, you heretic! The gods gave us you as a gift, we won’t waste it!”

 

“Get off me you fucking freaks _!”  _ Patrick screamed, twice as loud when his shoulder was squeezed and he felt the blood practically squishing out.

  
“Listen to him! We should take his tongue next!” both Saturnine’s cackled wildly and Patrick watched with spots dancing before his eyes as the blade came closer to his face “Don’t worry now, I know you’ll thank me for this!”

 

Patrick sobbed as the Saturnine grabbed his throat and held his head down, his body began to grow numb and refuse to listen “No! No, no, help me please, help! Where are you, why did you leave me!”

 

He felt the Saturnine holding him down tense “What the fuck are you harping on about? Who the hell else is here, what other heretics are here to poison our paradise?!”

 

Patrick choked as the hand on his throat tightened “Never mind! Ignore him, we’ll kill whoever else is here!” 

 

Patrick shut his eyes as the knife came closer, the cold metal on his cheek paralyzing him and for the umpteenth time since he got to Rapture he accepted that he was going to die. Somewhere though was a distant sound He couldn’t hear over the wild cackling of the two cultists, if he had then he would have recognized it as the whirring blades of the security drone; it appeared like a bat out of hell, the cultists only had a moment to look up as it fired at them both killing them instantly. Uncomfortably though the one about to make an impromptu surgery on Patrick’s eyes fell on top of him, he screeched and shoved the corpse away with his good arm; Patrick looked up in fear at the drone and expected it to fire at him as well, however he noticed a megaphone speaker attached to the bottom of it and before he could question it a familiar voice spoke;

 

_ “Well I apologize for causing them to attack you, Mr. Stump, but you should be very grateful I sent a drone I found to save you”  _ grateful? Patrick wanted to scream at the woman “ _ You’re right outside my doorstep practically, but I won’t let you in just yet. We need to have a discussion, make your way into the Farmer’s Market-the actual store inside- and we’ll talk”  _

 

Patrick let out a breathless broken laugh “Are you fucking kidding?  _ Look  _ at me!”

 

“ _ You’ve been through the ringer yes, but I know you’ve been through worse, Mr. Stump. There will be health shots waiting for you when you arrive, you’d best grab that satchel of yours before you head out”  _ with that, the drone flew back to wherever the hell it came from. 

 

Patrick huffed and struggled to sit up, the pain was blinding but if she had health shots then he’d be fine, right? His satchel lay nearby, his spine felt like it was on fire as he bent over to pick it up (he was relieved to find the shortwave radio was still in one piece) but froze as the Big Brother doll rolled out; a mixture of emotions filled Patrick then, anger and confusion along with the hurt that he didn’t want to admit to. Despite this though, he still picked it up and pressed it to his heart, wincing at the tears still dripping down his cheeks; where was the Big Brother? Why did he leave Patrick, was it because Patrick was heading to Sarah? 

 

The man shook his head and scowled, for fuck’s sake! It was the same recipe as Patrick limped towards the entrance of the Farmer’s Market; hadn’t known the creature long, it was only because being alone so long had affected him he was feeling so upset, it was because...because what? Patrick stood in the doorway for a few moments, fear prickling its way up his spine until he headed inside hoping that there weren’t anymore cultists lying in wait; desks and stands were shattered or lay on their sides, items were thrown around and several corpses lay about rotting. Regular sight in Rapture, Patrick thought bitterly, the man was beginning to think he’d have to put the money to several years of therapy-

 

“ _ Stop!”  _ He jumped and gasped, grabbing at his shoulder and hissing “ _ Stop, dammit, turn to your left”  _

 

He looked and blinked, across the room was a dirty window but the faint image of a woman standing on the other side was clear “Miss Orzechowski?” 

 

“ _ Get over here, it’s easier than speaking into this microphone at a constant”  _

 

Patrick hobbled over and stood a few feet from the glass “Health shots? Please?”

 

Sarah’s expression had turned from unimpressed to horrified in a matter of seconds “Dear God-hold on, hold on” she hurried to a side of the office and opened a little deposit hatch “Here, here they are”

 

Patrick walked over to the door outside the office and carefully opened it “thank you”

 

Sarah nodded and waited for Patrick to return in front of the window “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the extent-”

 

“It’s fine, you’re right, I’ve been through more hell than this” Patrick shuddered as his body fully healed in a seconds “What did you need to talk to me about? I really do need to get to Urie’s office”

 

Sarah furrowed her brow and sighed “Of course you do...what’s going to happen to Brendon?”

 

That took Patrick aback “Miss Orzechowski, why are you so concerned about his well-being? Didn’t he run Rapture into the ground, didn’t he build an entire city upon crime and lies?”

 

“Oh don’t you dare start with that” Sarah suddenly snapped, quickly she composed herself with a deep breath “look Mr. Stump, forget what I said about Brendon. What he did he did, I won’t lie about that but this is something else”

 

“And that something else is?” 

 

“Well…” Sarah paused with a frown, now what? “Where’s your monster”

 

Patrick’s eyes stung “what did you need me for, Miss Orzechowski?”

 

“Patrick-”

 

“I don’t think we’re on a first name basis” Patrick interrupted, his breath catching as tears threatened again “please can we get on with this?”

 

Sarah studied his face then nodded “right, well you see you and me aren’t the only people here in Rapture-”

 

“I know, Dr. Yao is down here” Patrick noted the surprise on her face “what”

 

“Nothing just...it’s been some time since me and Elisa spoke” Sarah said quickly, “anyway as I was saying there’s someone down here in Rapture you need to be wary of. I don’t know if he’s seen you yet or if you’ve spoken to him but if he knows you’re down here I can assure you, Stump, you’ll become a pawn in his chess game”

 

Patrick snorted “alright then, so what does that have to do with our discussion?”

 

Sarah huffed “let me explain please! We’re at the bottom of the ocean, you know what we lack down here? Air, hence why we have a tree farm. This man I’ve told you about, he’s been taunting me about spilling some kind of poison into the air and killing my trees, I’ve been trying to work out a plan but I’m not exactly that well knowledged in fighting and that’s why I need your help”

 

“Wait, so this dude could die as well but he’s still willing to kill all the trees?” was fucking everyone down here a psycho? 

  
“I know, insane” Sarah rolled her eyes and sighed “look, there’s a test sample of mine in a lab not too far from here. It’s labeled ‘Rose of Galaga’ and it’s crucial to helping us keep my trees alive  _ and  _ you”

 

Patrick nodded “alright, so I just need to find this lab and...you’ll do the rest?” 

 

“Precisely” Sarah gave Patrick a confident smirk “of course  _ you  _ need to manage yourself and come back  _ alive  _ preferably” 

 

Patrick scowled “I’ll be fine, thank you. If I show you my map can you mark where the lab is?”

 

“Yes, yes, hurry up! He could be watching us at this very moment for all we know”

 

Once Sarah pointed the area out, Patrick hurried out of the store and down a pathway leading to a grotto with fairy lights dangling from the treetops, Megan would’ve loved being here if there wasn’t so much murder. No, Patrick shook his head again and made his way through the area, don’t think about your family when you’re fathoms below the surface. Unfortunately Patrick ran into more Saturnines, this time the man handled them with ease and eventually found a health station buried beneath vines. He stopped to refill on shots when he heard a familiar low groan similar to a cow, slowly Patrick turned to his left and watched a Big Daddy enter the room with his Little Sister perched on his shoulders. Patrick’s instincts of the usual Avoid-Big-Daddy-Until-EVE-Shots-Are-Found was replaced by a burning feeling in his gut, he turned to face the creature and waited as he set the Little Sister down to harvest one of the Saturnine corpses before firing a bolt of electricity. The creature roared in rage, paralysis keeping him in place as Patrick quickly fired shots at it (ammo he received from looting the cultists corpses). 

 

Once the Big Daddy was out of paralysis he charged at Patrick, the man dodged to the side and fired a few more rounds before paralyzing the Big Daddy again; it was a smooth rinse and repeat cycle until the creature finally went down with a haunting moan. Patrick flinched as the Little Sister ran to the creature’s side, fuck he  _ hated  _ having to do this just to seperate them from the Big Daddies. Once the little girl was cured and Patrick made sure she found a Little Sister station he checked his map again before heading towards a door hidden away in a corner. He was surprised to set foot on carpet again, the doors shut behind him and he stood in a dimly lit room that felt like the air after a rainstorm just heat and everything was wet and muggy. 

 

Cautiously Patrick made his way down the hall, eyes widening when he saw the ceiling reach high into the air and the room turned out to have some kind of giant machine with gears grinding and turning; He didn’t have time to study it though, as much as Sarah was being cryptic about everything (that part Patrick somewhat understood) and being hostile (that part he completely understood) he didn’t want to be the reason she and Elisa died from lack of oxygen. He hurried up stairways and fought off Splicers (oh what ugly familiar faces) until he reached a long hallway with several doors lining both sides. Patrick scowled and pulled his map out, was he going-yeah, he was on the right path...actually it was apparently one of these doors, though to his annoyance Sarah hadn’t pointed out which one.

 

“Time to fucking play hide and seek” he grumbled.

 

There was an even number of 5 doors on both sides; only a few of them had windows that Patrick could look in to, 3 on the left side 1 on the right, they were all surprisingly untouched to Patrick’s relief but none of them looked quite like what Sarah needed him to find. Despite this, Patrick pulled a pair of lock picks Elisa had given him when she’d first met him (“You’ll need these, I hope you’re good at picking it because these aren’t easy to find around Rapture”) and carefully picked the first 3 doors on the left. He found ammo, money, several bottles of alcohol, and several lab reports about honey bees and plants (he wasn’t sure but he decided to take this with him anyway, maybe there was something about the use of a garden under the sea that could screw Urie over further?)

 

Unfortunately for Patrick, when he tried to pick the door on the right the thin metal snapped and dropped to the floor; he shrieked in frustration and slapped the door hard, flinching at the pain that shot through his arm and at the door rattling. He rubbed his arm and peered into the window, this lab looked exactly the same as all the others...he’d come back here later, at the moment he had a bad feeling one of the doors that he hadn’t opened yet were the ones he was going to need. Static suddenly filled the air and quickly Patrick pulled his shortwave radio out, Sarah’s familiar face filled the screen but something looked wrong.

 

“Miss Orzechowski?” 

 

“ _ Stump _ ” she covered her mouth and hacked violently, Patrick felt something in his stomach drop “ _ Stump you need to-you need to get back to the tea gardens _ , now _ ” _

 

“what-Miss Orzechowski I haven’t found the Rose-”

 

“ _ You can look for it later Stump! Hurry up, I need to get out of here for now. That bastard, I knew he was listening to us! Just hurry to the tea gardens, I’ll try and make my way to the medical bay!” _

 

Before Patrick could say anything further she cut the signal and disappeared, he cursed and shoved the device into his satchel as he took off. He avoided enemies, somehow slipping under their radar or maybe they just thought he was another crazed cult member, and soon he found himself racing through the Farmer’s Market towards the doors back to the tea gardens; Patrick’s heart leaped in to his throat as he heard the sound of a Rosie screaming, he skidded on the mud and ungracefully flew forward into the grass. His body burned as he propped himself on his elbows and stared with wide eyes at the sight before him; the grotto had Saturnines strewn around the area, 2 Rosie’s lay amongst them and even one was impaled on the wall. Before Patrick could even wonder what could’ve done this the answer came in the form of a Big Sister’s body being thrown into a wall. 

 

Patrick let out a broken laugh as he saw the Big Brother appear, the red light coming from it landed on him and instantly turned yellow; as much as the man on the ground felt relief it was quickly replaced with a wave of emotional rage. 

 

“ _ Where the fuck have you been?!”  _ Patrick was up and on his feet in seconds, the Big Brother was clearly taken aback and backed up a step “Where the fuck have you  _ been?!  _ Did you even hear me? Did you even hear me screaming for you to save me!”

 

The Big Brother let out a confused sound, taking a few steps forward and reaching for Patrick but the man actually  _ screamed  _ in rage and slapped his hand away.

 

“You  _ left  _ me! I found Orzechowski’s fucking office-I looked around for you and some fucking-!” Patrick turned and waved his hand in the direction of the dead Saturnines “some of those fuckers-they fucking tortured me! They shot me through the shoulder, they threw me to the ground and drove a knife  _ through  _  my fucking shoulder into  _ the ground!  _ They staked me to the ground! They beat me, they probably gave me a fucking concussion for all I know-!”

 

This time the confused sound took on an almost high pitched dolphin noise, the Big Brother again tried reaching for Patrick but dropped his hand when the small man gave him a look of pure murder.

 

“You know what else they fucking did?!” Patrick was now standing so close the tips of his shoes nearly touched the Big Brother’s boots “They fucking tried  _ ripping my god damn eyes out!  _ They talked about how I was a gift from their fucking gods and how they were going to rip my eyes out and drink my fucking insides! About how they were going to rip my tongue out and torture me!”

 

“You fucking left me all alone and to  _ do what!?”  _ Patrick screamed again and, to his surprise and genuine horror, he swung his fist into the Big Brother’s gut (it barely did anything, so why did the creature flinch?)“You left me all alone and you went back to the tea gardens to fucking kill some Rosies? That’s why I fucking ran from here in the first place! Because you’re a fucking monster just like the Big Daddies and Big Sisters and any time you see another one of you you just have to go and fucking be a ballistic psycho and go on a murder spree!  _ Because fuck watching over me, you’d rather kill than be stuck with me!” _

 

Everything froze then; Patrick was breathing like he’d just run a marathon and the Big Brother simply stared down at him, neither party moving until the smaller man let out a strangled sob and found himself sinking to his knees, hands covering his face in shame. 

 

_ You fucking idiot, you idiot! If he’s different than a Big Daddy and Big Sister than he’s going to leave you for sure now, how the hell could you say all that shit as if he was  _ obligated  _ to fucking watch over you?  _ Patrick let out pitiful sobs, trembling like a tree in a windstorm. 

 

There was a shuffling noise and Patrick squeaked a little as the Big Brother wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer to his chest and squishing Patrick’s face against him. The tiny man let out another broken laugh and, even though he knew he was going to smell, he pressed his face into the suit; the Big Brother made the soft train whistle noise, repeating it a few times as Patrick’s sobs petered down to little hiccups. He let out one last shuddering breath before gently pushing away from the Big brother; Patrick’s face was red from crying and shame, he’d just thrown a tantrum like a toddler and yet the creature was still concerned about his well being. 

 

“I’m sorry” Patrick croak, finally lifting his head and looking up at the Big Brother “I’m sorry, so sorry for that...I was so alone and even when I met Dr. Yao she never really left the safehouse...I was alone and you showed up and I just...you were there, you know?”

 

God, Patrick felt so awful wording it the way he did but the Big Brother made the soft throaty purr again and reached up to brush some of Patrick’s hair from his face; the smaller man’s face burned and quickly he stood up and backed away, he adjusted his glasses and chewed on his lip, the Big Brother tilted his head but stood back to full height. Right so...was he...going to follow Patrick again? The Big Brother seemed to notice the smaller man’s hesitation and made the train whistle sound, Patrick felt foolish but he smiled up at him and headed for the Farmer’s Market doors again.

 

“Come on, we need to move quickly. Something happened to Miss Orzechowski, I’m not sure what but she told me that some guy is trying to destroy Rapture and I’m pretty sure that means we’re all gonna die down here. She said he was going to try and kill off the trees and no offense ‘cause I don’t know about you but I kinda need that to live” Patrick slowed his walk a bit to look up at the Big Brother as a plan began to formulate in his head “hey, how fast can you run?”

 

The answer was pretty fast, after the Big Brother adjusted his oxygen tank to his front and had Patrick crawl onto his back piggyback style; the two were off in the direction Patrick directed “straight ahead and to the right through a door hidden in a corner!” No Splicers were waiting in the machine room to Patrick’s relief and quickly he stopped the Big Brother to set him down. The drop actually caught Patrick off guard, he squealed as he landed on his behind and turned red as the Big Brother turned around quickly and knelt down as if Patrick had just severely injured himself.

 

“I’m fine, you’re just really tall” Patrick grumbled as he stood back up “come on, I kinda need you to um...break something for me” 

 

The Big Brother made a confused noise but followed Patrick back to the hallway.

 

“Okay so” Patrick turned around and stood in front of the hallway “I need you to bust open the doors that are closed, please? I’m sorry I know that sounds like I’m just asking you to be a tool but we really need to get that thing Orzechowski needed me to get” 

 

The Big Brother tilted his head then nodded, Patrick moved aside and out of the hallway, even around the corner a little and peeked around to see the Big Brother rear his fist back and slam it into the door with a loud crash; Patrick flinched every time the Big Brother repeated the motion, maybe he should’ve had him do it one at a time? The comotion was definitely going to get the attention of Splicers...Patrick hadn’t noticed (somehow) that the Big Brother was done until it made a quick sharp grunt, snapping Patrick out of his thoughts.

 

“Thank you” Patrick gave him a weak smile, seeing the completely splintered remains of the door had him on edge “Um...god I know I just went on a whole rant about you leaving me but could you maybe stand watch outside the hall? Just in case Splicers show up?”

 

There was the low disapproving groan but the Big Brother moved past Patrick to stand in front of the hall Regardless. Patrick checked the 2 doors on the right side of the hall (finding several documentations about more plants), checked the first two doors on the left (more plant files, no special looking lab equipment) then the next two (a lab kit was sitting perfectly on a desk but Patrick recognized the heavy smell of whiskey and scowled angrily); the final door had Patrick frozen.

 

“Um...hey?” 

 

The Big Brother made his curious sound.

 

“I found the...the lab...do dimensions even exist down here?” Patrick hesitated before he entered the dilapidated looking lab “fucking hell, is that the Rose of Galaga?”

 

The room was large though most of it was destroyed; several tables were knocked over and most of the floor Patrick was certain was a shattered glass carpet. Behind him Patrick heard the same disapproving noise, he looked over his shoulder to see the Big Brother hesitating in the doorway; Patrick furrowed his brow and turned around to gesture for the creature to enter the room. He still hesitated but came to stand beside Patrick again, the Big Brother let out a low rumbled and Patrick honestly had no idea what that one meant but he hoped it wasn’t a bad noise. He hurried to the lone table and carefully picked up the beaker holding the flower, he could honestly say he’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life.

 

“Holy Smokes,and this is going to fix whatever that guy is doing?” Patrick’s eyes were wide and shined with awe “Just look at it, have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”

 

The Big Brother seemed to be studying the flower, for a few seconds Patrick regretted even asking that question because why the hell would it answer that when it had seen the same thing over and over down here in Rapture? Did he even know what beauty was? 

 

“Never mind, that was a mean question. All you’ve seen is Rapture and I’m sure eventually that gets tiring...what are you doing?” Patrick had started walking towards the door when the Big Brother had stepped in his way, oh god was Patrick’s nightmare coming true? “We need to get this out of here and head to the medical bay again”

 

The Big Brother stared at Patrick for a few moments before reaching out and pushing Patrick’s hair back again, the man made a face of confusion and gently pushed his hand away.

 

“I….okay? Look, I’m sorry but she could be hurt and that guy could be watching us right now. Let’s get going please?”

 

The Big Brother seemed to sigh, his whole body deflating for a moment before he held his arms out.

 

It took Patrick a second “you want to carry me? I don’t-” he stopped and thought about it, staring at the flower “...yeah, okay just...okay”

 

So again Patrick found himself in the arms of the Big Brother, it still didn’t feel any less awkward and the smell hadn’t gotten any less (hell he was starting to think it was worse with all the blood and death on the Big Brother). It seemed impossible but the two were suddenly back in the Medical bay area, Patrick tensing up and wrapping his arms more around the beaker containing the flower. Quietly they made their way through the darkened halls, fluorescent lights flickered and the sound of dripping water had the small man on edge; the Big Brother tightened his hold on Patrick a little, it was uncomfortable as the rubber felt strange through Patrick’s shirt but he wasn’t going to complain since it did give a small feeling of security.

 

“What if some Splicers have killed her already” Patrick suddenly said, the Big Brother looked at him and gave a confused sound “what if we’re fucked? That means I’ve failed and not only will I die but all those little girls and Dr. Yao are going to die”

 

The Big Brother shook his head, making the soft train whistle noise again.

 

“But-she said she’s not handy with a gun” Patrick looked almost pleadingly at the Big Brother, what the hell was he trying to even ask it? “What if she’s dead?”

 

“Then you count me out much too quickly” 

 

It was comical how even the Big Brother made a sharp sound of surprise, Patrick squealed and nearly dropped the beaker; Sarah was standing in front of the passageway entrance that lead to the front of Dr. Martinez’s labs of the med bay, her hair was tied up in a messy bun and her dress was splattered with blood (most likely from the monkey wrench she had at her side).

 

“You’re okay” Patrick wriggled out of the Big Brother’s arms and ran up to her “I got it, the flower. What happened to you?”

 

Sarah hummed and took the beaker from him, she studied the flower for a few moments before her eyes went to the Big Brother “I see you found your beast”

 

Patrick flinched and looked over at him before looking back at Sarah “Don’t call him that, it’s cruel”

 

“His existence is cruel” Sarah mumbled but she seemed to drop the topic “Thank you for this, Stump. At the current moment I’m afraid I have no way of getting back into my labs, Ry-the man has no doubt hacked security so it’s once more in his control. Do you suppose I could ask you another favor?”

 

“It’s keeping us alive, it’s not a favor” 

 

Sarah nodded with a sly kind of smile “alright then, Stump. You’re still looking evidence against Brendon, aren’t you? Help me with this and I’ll give you something for your troubles”

 

Patrick shouldn’t have been so excited over that “What do you need me to do now? More plant hunts? I’m sure that won’t be hard-”

 

“I need you to disable the security” Sarah handed Patrick several wads of bills “I happened to find these on the several unruly bastards that attacked me, I’m sure you can stock up on supplies because trust me Stump, you’re going to need it”

 

“Lovely” Patrick pocketed the money “and you?”

 

“I’m going to be finding another way into my lab again of course! By the time you take down security I should be able to get in and save my trees” Sarah paused as she turned to head somewhere into the dark “You know...you’re much shorter than I realized you were”

  
  


Sarah was lucky she’d left when she had, the Big Brother however got to see just how angry Patrick could get; by the time they’d reached the security section (it was absolute hell but at least Patrick got a new Plasmid from it, Telekinesis! And plenty of health and EVE shots) the small man was still slightly fuming but at least he wasn’t snapping about how she wasn’t even that tall and that he was a perfectly fine height. The Security bay wasn’t any less hectic; Splicers seemed to pop up like dandelions and were just as hard to kill, Patrick let the Big Brother handle most of it (though it wasn’t as if he had a choice, he kept getting pushed behind the creature and eventually gave up trying to use his plasmids).

 

Drones and cameras were destroyed with perfectly aimed debris courtesy of Patrick, each time he grinned like a kid at the fairgrounds and event the Big Brother would make his amused sounds. As they traveled down a hall up ahead Patrick spotted a room with glass windows all around, inside lay several control panels and other bells and whistles; he started to run ahead when again the Big Brother grabbed him and pulled him back, he turned to snap but froze seeing the laser-pointer light of a turret.

 

“Sorry” Patrick mumbled, rubbing his arm where he’d been grabbed.

 

Peeking around into the next room, Patrick shrank seeing that there was just one turret but the skulking shadows of a few Splicers. He looked behind him and softly mumbled “there’s some in the room, what do I do?” Apparently the answer was the Big Brother entering the room and all hell breaking loose; Patrick swore loudly and raced down the hall to the control room, thankfully the door was missing (oh boy, what the hell did that?) and he ran to a panel that showed footage of the gardens. In the room Patrick heard the familiar roar of rage and quickly began putting what little hacking skills he’d been learning to use, all the while the feeling that he needed to run back and help the Big Brother was gnawing in his gut. Suddenly a row of lights turned green and he panicked, had he just ruined things further? But then then he saw the lights in several rooms on the cameras shut down and he jumped in triumph, Sarah could fix things now! 

 

This joy was short lived as a sudden scream rang through the air, Patrick wasn’t sure if he’d ever run as fast as he did to the room; there were 2 turrets practically shredded and 2 bodies of Splicers laying against a wall, the scream came again and Patrick dropped to his knees as it practically drilled into his skull. To his left, Patrick watched in horror as 3 Splicers held down the Big Brother and a hook was being driven into his leg. 

 

“Get away from him!” Patrick was on his feet instantly and used telekinesis to pick up a smashed part of the turret “ _ Now!”  _

 

“Fuck off, little fish!” the Splicer who’d stabbed the Big Brother repeated it again, the scream was ripping at Patrick’s ears “c’mere then if you want to save him!”

 

“Eat shit!” Patrick hit the Splicer dead on, quickly picking up several more debris and sending it crashing through the remaining 2s heads, “Fuck, fuck” he raced over and dropped to his knees beside the writhing Big Brother “shh, shh it’s okay, it’s okay I’m here”

 

The Big Brother let out a sharp cry, brief but enough to indicate pain.

 

“Shh, shh I know” Patrick reached out with a shaking hand and placed it on the Big Brother’s chest “it’s alright they’re dead now, they’re dead now. Oh God, what’d they do to you?”

 

Patrick swore he heard a whimper-an actual human sounding whimper-but that quickly dissolved into a low groan. The Big Brother tried sitting up only to let loose the same skull rattling scream, Patrick forced himself to not cover his ears and reached over to awkwardly hug the Big Brother’s arm.

 

“Shh, shh it’s okay. I’m here alright? No more pain, I’m going to make the pain go away” Patrick pulled away but froze when the Big Brother’s hand curled around his waist, was he really that small compared to the creature? “Hey, hey, I’m not going anywhere okay? I’m grabbing something, it’ll make the pain go away”

 

Again the same whimpering groan but Patrick’s waist was released, the Big Brother watched the man dig around in his satchel until he pulled out a health shot.

 

“Okay, give me your arm alright?” Patrick turned to face him but noticed...was the Big Brother leaning away from him? “Hey, I need your arm to fix yo-I mean make the pain go away. You’ve seen me do this to myself, it helps fix my body when I’m hurt”

 

The confused dolphin noise was Patrick’s response, was it supposed to be a mixture of confusion and concern? He was starting to think it was. The Big Brother relented though and held his arm out for Patrick, the man gave him a reassuring smile and quickly stuck the needle in his upper arm through his suit. 

 

“Hey, hey, shhh” Patrick reached over and placed his hand on the Big Brother’s chest again, this time it felt like Patrick could-did the creature have a heartbeat? He shook his head again, stay focused idiot it was still in pain “It’s alright, it’s going to take a few seconds but it’ll heal you...I’m right here, okay?”

 

The next seconds seemed to pass slowly; the same whimpering groan repeating and Patrick felt sick each time the Big Brother’s leg twitched, Patrick had even started petting the creature’s chest (honestly the action was so intimate he had no idea  _ why  _ he was doing it) and it seemed to help calm the Big Brother down so Patrick continued doing so. After another minute Patrick craned his neck to see-wait what? He stared in absolute confusion because...because all the Big Daddy reports had said that their skin fused with their suits but-Patrick squeaked as he was shoved away from the Big Brother, terror crawled into his chest and quickly he scrambled to stand up but stayed in place at the sharp cry the Big Brother gave. 

 

The creature hesitated as he stood but stand he did, though now he seemed to be trying to look everywhere but Patrick; the man found that odd and as he tried looking back at the ripped open pant leg he cried out as the Big Brother clamped his hand over Patrick’s eyes (and partially some of his nose and upper lip).

 

“Hey! Knock it off, I can’t see!” the Big Brother grunted, that was obviously the point “What are you even hiding from me, are you still hurting?” Patrick started clawing at the arm in an attempt to get it away “Knock it off-!”

 

The deep growl Patrick heard had him frozen, what the hell was the Big Brother warning-was he growling at  _ Patrick?  _

 

This notion had the man licking his lips in fear, was he just trying to hide Patrick’s eyes from seeing a different kind of fleshy mutation? They stayed that way for a few moments before Patrick was turned around to face forward by the Big Brother, he tensed a little as a hand was kept on his shoulder and to his annoyance he realized it was a way to keep him from seeing whatever was wrong.

 

“You’re not hurt then” his shoulder was lightly squeezed “then what are you hiding” another warning growl “You don’t trust me?”

 

That was a low blow and Patrick knew it; behind him came a low rolling sound that...didn’t really have a pitch, Patrick shut his eyes with a soft sigh and started walking. Of course the whole trip was driving the man insane; if he needed to go one way he’d have to wait for the Big Brother to move so Patrick still couldn’t see him and  _ then  _ he could walk forward or he’d have to shut his eyes plus put his hands over them so the Big Brother could take care of something blocking their way. It was beginning to grate on Patrick’s nerves but really the more he thought about it the more it did make sense; yes, Patrick would admit that he was hurt that the Big Brother was hiding something from him but...wait, what time was it even? Patrick’s watch had been smashed when the Saturnines had grabbed him so he wasn’t even sure if he’d just spent a whole day running around in watery hell-regardless, the Big Brother knew nothing about Patrick and vice versa so he had no reason to show anything to Patrick.

 

Except Patrick swore that for the briefest second he had seen...well, a regular looking human leg albeit looking rather too long and not enough muscle on it, but still a human leg. Of course Patrick had to have been wrong, the dim lighting in the room or something maybe, because the Big Brother wasn’t human and even if all the experiments were human once upon a time they weren’t anymore. They came to a stop suddenly and Patrick was a little annoyed but now intrigued, he’d never see this area before; at least as far as he could remember, after a while everything blurred in Rapture. He was turned to face a wall and beyond confused when the Big Brother’s hand disappeared from his shoulder, Patrick listened and felt his stomach get cold as the sound of bootsteps began to wander away.

 

“He-hey wait! You’re not leaving me are you?” silence was his response,  _ Oh my god he’s abandoned me- _ Patrick jumped as he heard the distant sound of a metal door screeching open  _ Oh...maybe he didn’t leave me afterall? But what’s he doing?  _

 

Patrick looked over his shoulder and craned his neck around to look and spotted a large set of storage doors half open, faintly Patrick could hear shuffling and occasional noise...the thought occurred to Patrick and it sounded completely absurd but...was the Big Brother changing the diving suit? No, that wouldn't make-but Patrick swore he’d seen a normal human leg...and it wasn’t grafted to the diving suit...so it would make sense in some weird way because honestly the man had no idea  _ how  _ the Big Brother worked. Here’s the thing though, Patrick thought as he slowly turned around and started to walk towards the doors, the thing was that his morals had started to pick up on that the Big Brother could apparently think and feel differently than a Big Daddy or Big Sister. His morals were telling him the reason the Big Brother was hiding something was obviously because it wasn’t Patrick’s business and also privacy was a thing.

 

However, Patrick Stump hadn’t managed to get the job of a reporter for nothing, and the other not moral driven part of him was giving in to the curiosity of what did the Big Brother look like? Surely a tiny peek wouldn’t hurt, and he’d be able to run back to place before the Big Brother could come back. Now that Patrick was closer he could hear low growls and high pitched whines, it reminded him almost of a frustrated animal when they had something stuck to their body and they couldn’t reach it; Patrick paused for only a moment before moving forward and carefully into the room-he screeched as a gloved hand clapped over his eyes, sending a ringing through his ears and pain through his skull. Patrick was shoved back roughly, landing on his back and feeling terrified as the Big Brother (now wearing a hole-less diving suit) turned around and jerked the door shut, the door even sparked a bit. 

 

Now the Big Brother turned back and stared down at the trembling man, the yellow light was dangerously close to red and Patrick found tears beginning in the corners of his eyes; Patrick sat up and scrambled back when the Big Brother took a step towards him; oh God, oh God, he was dead, he was so  _ fucking _ dead-the light changed back to light yellow and the Big Brother knelt down, the closeness had the man expecting the creature to grab his throat and suffocate him or crush his head; instead, he was picked up and set back on his feet, the gloved hands remained on his sides for a few moments before he was released and the Big Brother walked past Patrick. The man turned around and stared, fuck he was really leaving Patrick this time wasn’t he? Nice going, Stump, so much for-the creature came to a stop in the middle of the room and just...stood there. 

 

Patrick furrowed his brow and slowly walked over, standing a few feet from him “...what...what?” that was it, all that Patrick could manage.

 

The Big Brother let out a low sound, Patrick didn't’ recognize it and felt frustration build up.

 

“What the hell did you make me stand in front of the wall for? You could’ve just gone in that room and made me stand outside there, you could’ve shut the door while you...did whatever you did” Patrick took a step forward, fists clenched at his sides “what the hell are you even hiding from me? You said you’re not hurt anymore, are you lying to me?”

 

The Big Brother let out the same rolling sound, shaking his head; that didn’t Patrick’s anger.

 

“Then what the hell are you hiding from me?” Patrick’s voice was reaching a higher pitch “You’ve been protecting me, you’ve been watching over me and making sure I’m not hurt and-and what? I’m not even allowed to see your wounds? I’m not allowed to see you at all?”

 

The rolling sound was mixed with a low growl, Patrick watched the Big Brother’s clench and unclench his hands; oh, so Patrick was pushing his luck? Somehow this sparked a new annoyance.

 

“Why the hell do you even care! I’ve already seen the files about Big Daddies and Big Sisters, I already know that they’re fucking skin is grafted to their suits! But what I saw was different on  _ you,  _ what the hell are you hiding from me?” another step, the rational part of Patrick’s mind was telling him to shut the fuck up but he couldn’t, for some reason he couldn’t “You don’t fucking trust me, is that it? So I’m just supposed to be okay with some fucking monster dragging me around Rapture until you decide you’re tired of me?!”

 

Upon the word ‘monster’ the Big Brother whirled around with light a blaring red, the warning growl seemed to boom throughout the room.

Patrick’s instincts kicked in and quickly electricity flowed into his hands, the Big Brother’s blade extended with a violent shriek of metal against metal; the two now stood staring at each other for a tense few minutes, Patrick’s anger from before melting away to guilt and fear at the light shining off the blade.Then suddenly, the blade retracted and the Big Brother stood to his full height, turning around and Patrick watched as he disappeared down a corridor; he stood there for a few moments before it hit him what just happened and then he was racing after him. The corridor dipped and rose in an almost drunk pattern, Patrick stumbled a few times and started to wonder just why he was running after this thing; he’d just thrown another temper tantrum, he’d just said that the Big Brother was a monster and that he didn’t trust Patrick, threatened-even if it was on accident-the Big Brother and yet all those times he convinced himself he wouldn’t care that the Big Brother left that was a clearly bullshit as he almost crashed into a wall rounding a corner.

 

The man stumbled as he pushed himself away from the wall, the room he was now in looked like a maintenance room and walking up a set of stairs was the Big Brother. Patrick took off again, shouting “wait!” and more or less crashing into the Big Brother once he was up the steps; he threw his arms around the Big Brother’s waist and pressed his face into the creature’s side, his breathing was coming out in ragged gasps and he wondered if he would have an asthma attack before he could even apologize. 

 

“I’m sorry” Patrick gasped out quickly, why the hell would he expect this apology to work? “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry I swear I am please-it’s none of my business what you look like and it’s none of my business what you are and that was so wrong of me to say you don’t trust me when we don’t jack shit about each other and I shouldn’t expect you to trust me just because you’ve been protecting me and I swear, I swear I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for me and just-” he choked on his breath and dug his fingers into the diving suit, fuck now was not the time to get asthma attack while trying to apologize “I’m so sorry, please just please don’t...don’t leave me”

 

The Big Brother stood still, he felt the smaller shaking against him and after a few moments he wrapped his arm gently around Patrick and squeezed him.

 

Patrick wasn’t sure if that was the Big Brother saying he forgave him or not, he wasn’t sure if that was his way of saying  _ too bad, I’m gone, you’ve fucked up enough  _ “please don’t leave me alone” 

 

The Big Brother made the train whistle sound, he slid his hand into Patrick’s hair for a few moments before gently pushing the smaller man away; Patrick stared up at in him confusion, his gut twisting as he suspected that he was right about the Big Brother saying goodbye permanently. The creature took Patrick’s arm gently and tugged on it, he followed him up to the top of the steps and stared in confusion as the Big Brother knelt down and pushed some of Patrick’s hair back again; the small man stared at the Big Brother as if he could see its face and be able to study what it was thinking, the small throaty purr sounded and then Patrick was...alone? He blinked and turned to look down the hallway, the Big Brother lumbered off until he was out of sight as he rounded a corner. What...what? Did-was Patrick-had he been forgiven? Was that the Big Brother’s way of saying goodbye before leaving Patrick to fuck off and die? 

 

He was still standing there moments later when the shortwave radio kicked on “ _ Stump? Stump are you there? I don’t know if you can hear me or if you’re dead but I’ve managed to save the trees. Elisa apparently heard about my plight from one of those orphans she’s protecting and they went through their little gopher holes to snag me the last ingredient I needed. Head to the tree farms would you? I owe you some kind of a gift and I think what I have will be of some extra use to you” _

 

Patrick swallowed and pulled the radio out “Whatever the hell it is, I don’t want it” 

 

Sarah’s face shown surprise “ _ What-are you crying? Did you get into another fight with that beast or something? Look, I don’t know what happened but you’re going to want it alright, it’s a plasmid” _

 

“A plasmid?” Elisa’s words came back, telling him that he’d need all of them...but really Patrick felt too numb at the moment to care “why the hell would I care” 

 

“ _ Stop being dramatic and come to the tree farms!”  _ with that, Sarah disappeared from the screen.

 

Patrick dropped the shortwave radio back into the satchel and pulled his map out, he had no idea where he was but if he could guess right...yeah, if he found a staircase in another room nearby he could descend severtal stairs and find himself back in the Ross’ Fisheries. He came across Splicers, took care of them quickly, and soon was making his way up to the corridor that would take him to the tea gardens. Patrick felt his stomach grow cold as he walked by all the carnage, subconsciously he reached into the satchel and wrapped his hand around the Big Brother doll, it felt like an eternity before he reached the tree farms. The whole area was even brighter green that the previous rooms, as its name would suggest trees towered and reached up to the ceiling. 

 

“Miss Orzechowski?” he called out, heading down the steps “Where are you?” 

 

Patrick stood in the path and looked around him, this room felt too open to the man and he wondered just where security cameras were hiding when he heard a metallic screech to his left and turned quickly; panic briefly kicked in when he saw a Rosie standing there but was replaced with curiosity seeing it held a green plasmid container in its hand. Slowly it made its way to Patrick and held it out to him, he hesitated before taking it and watched with slack jaw confusion as the Rosie turned around and headed through the doors to the farmer’s market. O...kay, Patrick frowned and looked down at the container curiously; the liquid inside was a neon green, almost acidic looking, what the hell did this plasmid do? 

 

Patrick heard the familiar static of the radio and pulled it out “ _ I see you’re in the farms, like the gift?” _

 

“What does it do?” Patrick knelt down and pulled an empty syringe from the satchel, loading in the liquid “Does it have something to do with plants?”

 

“ _ No, but good guess since it’s green. I was expecting you to say something stupid like acid, anyway you’ll definitely need this since your little friend has apparently left you high and dry”  _

 

Patrick felt his throat close up “What’s it do?”

 

“ _ Throw it at a Big Daddy and you’ll be like a Little Sister to it. It’ll follow you and be your helper, but only for a limited amount of time of course. Seeing as you’re alone now you’re going to need the extra help”  _ Sarah paused then sighed “ _ That reminds me, I also owe you some dirt on Brendon...at the moment there’s no way for you to get anywhere near Brendon’s office thanks to the bastard listening in on us” _

 

“Who is this guy? You keep mentioning him, Miss Orzechowski and I’d like to know if I’m in danger-I mean  more danger than I already am. You said I’m going to be a little pawn in his game or something if he can contact me, how am I supposed to avoid him if I don’t even know-”

 

“ _ Details, Stump! Look fine, for now I can tell you his name. It’s Ryan, and he’s the worst man you’ll meet down here in Rapture. There’s a whole story I could tell you but we don’t have the time for it right now, I’ll keep in contact with you occasionally. You should head back to Elisa’s, to your surprise I keep an eye on what time it is and it’s nearly ten” _

 

Patrick blinked, only...only 10? “Holy smokes, you’re kidding me right? It feels like i’ve been here longer than four days..”

 

Sarah bid him farewell for the moment and Patrick made his way out of the gardens and down the corridor that would lead him back to the corridor leading to the luxury building (that’s what Elisa called it since most of the floors were lounges). The lack of Splicers had Patrick on edge again, once he reached the corridor though he stopped and stared out at the water; now really wasn’t the time to enjoy the scenery he was sure, but it was still so...surreal that this place could exist down here. Patrick jumped seeing the large fin of a whale, the creature was ascending and he watched in awe at how graceful it moved between the skyscrapers. Something caught his eye though, making him run and lean against the glass; did he just-Patrick blinked and craned his neck as the whale began to turn into a dot, had he just seen...the Big Brother? On the whale’s tail? 

 

“I’m going insane” Patrick mumbled softly, shaking his head and sighing “Dr. Yao can make the loneliness away for a little bit, that’s what you get for letting yourself get attached to something that belongs down here while you’re just the idiot that clung to the nearest person...thing, that would put up with you”

 

He turned and headed back down the corridor again, no time to dwell on it; soon Patrick was heading down the hall to the secret door and knocking on it. He stood there for a few seconds before it slid open to reveal Elisa, the woman had a look of pity on her face that made Patrick want to hide.

 

“I wondered if you’d be alright, when I heard Sarah talking about you and...well, you’ll just have to tell me about it after you’ve slept”.

 

Patrick wasn’t going to complain there; he wasn’t sure if he said hello or not as the girls all stopped their little game of Duck-Duck-Goose but he hoped he did, all he was really aware of was when he ungracefully flopped onto the cot laying in the corner of the room and shut his eyes. 

  
  


The man’s dreams were filled with the same scene over and over; the Saturnine’s holding him down and the blade coming closer and closer to his face, every moment Patrick is having pains in different parts of his body and each moment the scene restarted he would have bullet wounds in other places. He kept screaming and screaming, crying out for the Big Brother to save him while the cultists mocked him with sick taunts and hellish laughter. The pain felt so real, the ground beneath him felt so real, the filthy nails digging into his shoulders and hand around his throat felt horrifyingly real-

 

“ _ Patrick!”  _

 

He cried out in fear and scrambled up, flailing and falling out of the cot “what-where? Where am I?”

 

Elisa was kneeling beside him, a hand gently placed on his shoulder and concern written on her face “Patrick, you were having a nightmare. It must’ve been one hell of a nightmare, I thought it was Splicers outside in the hallway...hey, hey, just breathe okay? Breathe” 

 

Patrick was gasping, pressing a hand against his ribs and tried composing himself “I-I’m so sorry, fuck, are the girls okay?”

 

“They’re fine, they could sleep through a hurricane” Elisa gave him a reassuring smile, squeezing his shoulder “Patrick, do you want to talk about what happened?”

 

“No” he said it quickly, clutching at his heart as it began to sped up again “please no, I just-what time is it?” 

“About...three in the morning I believe” Elisa stood up, helping Patrick to stand as well “Clara told me she thought she heard ‘a bad man’ inside the house, it turned out to be you screaming”

 

“Clara? Hey wait” Patrick frowned “you told me the girls were all asleep, so I did wake someone up!” 

 

Elisa sighed “and this is why I didn’t tell you, you silly man. If you’re not going to be able to sleep anytime soon, would you mind if I had Clara sit with you? She needs to talk to someone” 

 

“Sure” Patrick sat back on the cot, Elisa disappearing then reappearing with Clara.

 

“Hey, I remember you” Patrick said in surprise, it was the little girl that gifted him with the doll.

 

“Hi” she said softly as she slowly walked over “are you okay? Miss Yao said you had a bad dream”

 

“Yeah, I’m okay, I hope I didn’t scare you too bad” Patrick smiled at her and helped her sit on the cot “did you have a bad dream too?”

 

“Kinda” she shifted around and giggled at the cot squeaking “it was scary, bad men were chasing me”

 

“I’m sorry. Don’t worry though, nothing bad’s gonna happen to you while me and Dr. Yao are around” Patrick patted her back gently “was that all?”

 

Clara looked down at her feet then up at Patrick “Big Brother was there”

 

Patrick felt his throat close “o-oh?”

 

She nodded then hopped off the cot “hold on, mister”

 

“O..kay?” Patrick watched confused as Clara disappeared, even more when she re-appeared holding his satchel “hey, how did you get that?” 

 

“Miss Yao took it from you while you were asleep, she had to look at all the paper stuff you had” she set the bag beside him then placed the Big Brother doll in his lap “you kept it”

 

“Yeah...I did…” Patrick carefully picked it up and stared at the little yellow plastic piece again “...hey um, Clara? Can I ask you something?”

 

“What mister?” she crawled back onto the cot and looked up at him.

 

“Well, Dr. Yao told me that your brother could...talk to you in your head, what did you mean by that?” 

  
Clara giggled “I already told Miss Yao! He can’t talk but he would in my head. We would talk about angels and flowers”

 

“I...see, that must’ve been very nice”  _ So it is telepathic? Why couldn’t I hear him  _ “well what happened?”

 

“I couldn’t hear him anymore” Clara looked sad for a few seconds but then smiled “but he likes you! I know he does ‘cause we saw him following you on little T.V.s” 

 

Wait what “What do you mean sweety?”

 

“Miss Yao had a little T.V. that she’d watch you on sometimes, she told us she couldn’t always see you but sometimes she could and the other lady Miss Sarah said that you were with Big Brother so he must like you!”

 

Patrick laughed without meaning to “I-that’s a nice thought...was Miss Sarah nice to you girls?”

 

“Mhm! She gave us all little daisies” Clara pulled the little white flower from behind her ear “we saw you holding a really big and pretty red flower in a room”

 

“Oh, the Rose of Galaga” Patrick was now getting a little unnerved, if Elisa had seen him in that room then why did he have to explain what happened? “It really was pretty”

 

“Big Brother thought you were pretty” that caught Patrick off guard, Clara tilted her head and looked at him confused “you didn't know that? He told you didn’t he?”

 

“I can’t hear him sweety” what was she talking about? 

 

Clara frowned sadly “oh, I didn’t know that. I’m sorry, he must not hug you as much as he hugged me. That’s okay though, he’ll come back and hug you lots I’m sure!”

 

“He’ll come back to me?” Patrick was surprised at how excited he sounded “how do you know?”

 

“Be-cause silly! He likes you, he thinks you’re pretty!” Clara dramatically sighed and hopped off the cot, moving to stand in front of Patrick “when you asked if he’d ever seen anything as pretty as the flower, he pointed at you!”

 

That was like a bombshell to Patrick, he opened his mouth and closed it several times most likely looking like a fish “He thinks...I’m pretty?”

 

“Ye-es!” Clara rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically again “He thinks you’re very pretty!”

 

Again, nothing was clicking right in Patrick’s head “I...okay, that’s...nice, nice to know. Hey Clara, I’m sorry if you’re still awake sweetie but I need some sleep okay?”

 

“It’s okay, mister! Have good dreams, when you wake up Big Brother will be waiting for you outside!” Clara hugged Patrick’s leg and trotted away.

 

Now Patrick lay back on the cot and stared up at the ceiling trying to understand what was just said; so the Big Brother had understood Patrick’s question and...thought Patrick was beautiful? Well wait, okay, Sarah and even Elisa seemed to avoid the creature so maybe Patrick was a huge difference because...well he didn’t look like a Splicer so that could’ve been why the Big Brother thought Patrick was beautiful. Except the more Patrick dwelled on it the more his cheeks started to turn a soft pink, Patrick Martin Vaughn Stump pretty? Oh goodness, Patrick was starting to feel like a girl in school after getting a note that the boy she’d been ogling returned the feelings. With a huff Patrick tried falling back to sleep, he wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or not but when he was awoken again by a few little girls shaking his shoulders he found he had a dreamless sleep.

 

“Sleep well?” Elisa asked as Patrick was led by the girls into a room where several little tables were “we have breakfast, I’m sure you’d like to join us”

 

“Food sounds very nice” Patrick sat at a taller table while Elisa seated the girls “I’m sorry about this morning”

 

“It’s alright, I understand how nightmares can affect people…” Elisa handed Patrick a plate with 2 sandwiches and a cooked fish “sorry for such a strange breakfast”

 

“You kidding? This is great” definitely an upgrade from stale potato chips. 

 

Elisa smiled and sat across from him “I’m glad to hear that. Don’t eat too fast, set a good example for the girls”

 

They talked then, Patrick mainly telling his harrowing tales and shrinking under Elisa’s gaze once he got to the end of his tail where he went off on the Big Brother. 

 

“Patrick, how could you? I understand that you were frustrated but after everything he’s done for you you betrayed his trust?”

 

“What trust?” Patrick’s voice cracked, he flinched at the stern look he received “What trust, Dr. Yao?”

 

“Don’t you dare say that, Patrick, when you know perfectly well what I’m yelling at you for” Elisa paused and looked at the girls “all of you go play now, alright?”

 

“Yes Miss Yao” quickly they ran off, leaving the adults alone.

 

Elisa looked back at Patrick sternly “You realize that while you’ve been talking about the Big Brother you should as if you’ve lost someone important to you? On top of that don’t think I haven’t noticed the way your face turned pink. You looked very lost when you were on my doorstep, so don't you yell at me”

 

Patrick’s face turned red “that has nothing to do with trust, Elisa”

 

“Oh don’t you even! You were terrified when he was injured, you care about him and even if it was in a short amount of time you still want to see him again” Elisa sighed and stood from her seat “I’m sure Sarah mentioned it but some of the girls helped her save the trees from dying and all of us suffocating, she mentioned that you kept defending the Big Brother and you tell me he doesn’t trust you?”

 

Patrick chewed on his lip and lowered his head “I don’t know where he is, Elisa, he just...he left me, he’s not coming back”

 

“Oh listen to you!” Elisa huffed and swatted at Patrick “He’ll go back to you, if he kept coming back to you he will do it again”

 

He stood there for a few moments in silence then sighed “did you happen to stack everything together?”

 

“Yes, your evidence is all stacked together” Elisa gestured to a desk in the corner of the room where a pile of manilla folders lay “you’re still going to try and get into Urie’s office though aren’t you? I hope Sarah warned you about Ryan” 

 

“She mentioned that he’s going to try and kill me yeah” Patrick was a little fed up now “What time is it? I need to keep looking for evidence”

 

“Good lord Stump, what you  _ need  _ to do is go look for the Big Brother again because let’s face it you’ll get yourself killed yet” Elisa held her hand up as Patrick began to protest “if not then go stay in the gardens. It may surprise you but there are still some safe spots”

 

Patrick stayed silent, Elisa sighed and patted his shoulder before the man turned around and went to his cot to gather his satchel. The girls were all standing in a straight line as he neared the exit, demanding he hug them before he leaves. Clara was the last one to hug him, she squeezed his neck tightly with her small arms and gave him a serious look

 

“Be careful while you’re out, the bad men might hurt you”

 

“I will” Patrick said, smiling reassuringly “you girls be good for Dr. Yao okay?”

 

“We will” she stopped and looked at Patrick’s satchel “do you have the doll I gave you?”

 

“Yep” he patted the bag at his side “won’t go anywhere without it”

 

Clara nodded “He’ll go look for you, you just have to listen for him when he calls for you okay? It’ll be quiet but you’ll hear him”

 

Patrick just nodded and said goodbye again; once out in the hall he let out a shaky sigh he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in, was he really being that affected by the Big Brother’s absence? Yeah at first it had just been because there was someone there, there was someone that Patrick could be with and not be alone anymore but now...the man shook his head, he wasn’t sure but all he knew was that yes, he was upset about the Big Brother being gone. What bothered him though as he walked down the hall was how adament Clara had been that Patrick would hear the Big Brother. Hear what? Yeah he heard all those noises the creature made and so far had managed to decipher them but if she meant telepathically why hadn’t the Big Brother already been doing so?

 

“Fucking too many questions, this shit wasn’t supposed to happen I was just supposed to find dirt on Brendon Urie and get some fucking money” of course meeting Dr. Yao and saving the girls wasn’t planned either but he’d managed to make them fit into his plan “Why the hell weren’t you already talking to me if you could speak telepathically” 

 

The question went unanswered of course, Patrick sighing and running his hand through his hair as he rounded a corner-

 

_ -Been trying to! I’ve been trying to talk to you god dammit can you hear me now you stupid-! _

 

Patrick froze in place, turning around quickly to see no one “...hello?”

 

No response

 

“Uh…” he swallowed and licked his lips nervously “okay, okay, I’m going crazy now. Maybe I should swing by the bar” 

 

He knew what he heard though, despite it seeming impossible and as he found himself in one of the lounges he knew what he heard; a voice, deep and clear yet sounding so  _ so  _ far away. Patrick seated himself at a bar, the chair uncomfortable but he didn’t care; he reached over and picked up two bottles of what looked like hard whiskey...fuck it, what did he even have to lose? His sanity? Apparently that was already gone since he’d just supposedly heard a voice in his head. With this back in mind, Patrick downed the two bottles in an impossible amount of time that probably would’ve drowned but the amount of ADAM that had already fucked him up seemed to help with that not happening. It seemed like moments before Patrick found himself on his back, legs leaning up and straight against the bar and giggling hysterically about how shiny his shoes were that  _ maybe  _ he went overboard. 

 

“Way-hay and up she rises! Way-hay and up she ris-hic! Way-hahahaha…” Patrick rolled onto his side giggling, that was such a fun song! Why hadn’t he been singing it on his way down to Rapture? He really should’ve been! 

 

Somewhere further down the hall Patrick thought he heard footsteps...did he though? The man shrugged, giggling again and started rolling around on the floor; honestly he was having the time of his life at the moment, so engrossed that he just thought the familiar yellow light shining on him was just a lantern fish maybe. The Big Brother stood outside the bar staring at the man on the ground, the dolphin sound coming from him but Patrick was too busy laughing about how the ground was chasing him; hesitantly the Big Brother walked over and knelt down, Patrick eventually rolling into his boot and staring up at him with wide blue eyes.

 

Then Patrick gasped “you came back to me!” 

 

The Big Brother didn’t expect the man to move so quickly or to have Patrick throw his arms around his shoulders while squealing; he placed a hand gently on Patrick’s back and repeated the train whistle noise.

 

“You came back to me! You don’t hate me after all!” Patrick giggled and leaned his weight into the creature’s chest “you came back, you came back!”

 

Okay, as much as this was quite cute to the Big Brother Patrick was obviously drunk...well, no shit since he was at a bar. He made a sharp chirping sound and scooped Patrick up, one arm under him and the other holding him to the Big Brother’s chest. 

 

“What are we doing? Where are we going?” Patrick giggled and actually  _ nuzzled  _ into the creature “you still smell funny, but not as bad. Did you take a bath? Was the bath the ocean? You must smell like salt then!” Patrick turned and pressed his face into the diving suit, obnoxiously snorting “oh nope, you just smell like stale seaweed!”

 

The Big Brother just patted Patrick’s back gently and rounded a corner, he paused and nudged a door open before awkwardly crouching down to enter; it was obviously a storage closet but it was big enough to pass as an apartment room. The Big Brother shifted Patrick around in his arms and sat down against a wall, Patrick started wriggling around and soon sat in the creature’s lap with legs on either side of the Big Brother’s. 

 

“Hey, where are we? It’s funny in here” Patrick giggled and pulled the Big Brother’s right arm over to him, he grabbed his hand and started playing with his fingers “oooh, I didn’t know rubber made this noise! Your fingers are so long, how come they’re longer than mine? I’m not that short!” this was followed by another series of giggles “you came back to me”

 

The Big Brother nodded slowly, God if only he could tell the man just...pretty much everything but obviously that had yet to work out.

 

“I thought I heard a voice” Patrick hummed, reaching up and suddenly tapping the side of his helmet “it called me stupid, it hurt a lot. You should call me worse stuff, I was really mean to you” Patrick continued tapping, now it was turning into the tune of “Mary had a little lamb”, “I’ve been so mean to you and yelling and hitting you and I wouldn’t let you pick me up. You should say meaner stuff” 

 

The Big Brother made the dolphin sound again, what on Earth-why would he want to be cruel to Patrick?

 

“But you came back so you forgive me?” Patrick went back to giggling, tapping more and starting to full on laugh “this is so much fun! You’re like a drum, doo doo doo!”

 

If he could’ve the Big Brother would’ve been laughing.

 

“Hey, hey, I got this new-this new power thingy and it’ll make getting the Little Sisters easier for me! Then I can save them and take them to my farm” Patrick hummed and cuddled back against the Big Brother once more “I’m gonna buy it from my brother and live there, then I can have like….a bunch of daughters and they can have good lives and go to school and all that-hic! Shit” 

 

The Big Brother made the sharp chirping sound again and patted Patrick’s back.

 

“You know what though? I saw-saw this  _ whale  _ and I think i’ve seen him before!” Patrick sat back and looked at the Big Brother with a very serious look “he was blue” 

 

Scratch that,  _ now  _ the Big Brother would’ve been losing his shit. 

 

“It’s true! He was big and blu-u-u-u-ue!” Patrick sang out the note and giggling “he was real big and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him before ‘cause…’cause he kept coming back to Rapture and yeah”

 

That summed up the next few moments, just Patrick rambling about random shit and the Big Brother just nodding while occasionally chirping; they were in the closet for at least an hour before Patrick shifted around and lay on his side against the Big Brother’s chest, catching the creature off guard but the gentleness wasn’t unwanted.

 

“Ya know...ya know one of the girls...she said you thought I was beautiful” Patrick droned lazily with a silly grin “that...that’s really funny ‘cause you haven’t known me long but you think I’m pretty? That’s really wrong though ‘cause I’m not but...but I know you think I’m beautiful”

 

Patrick heard the throaty purr again, the Big Brother reaching up and sliding his hand into Patrick’s hair.

 

“Oh no!” Patrick suddenly sat up, a little fast as he wobbled, and looked at the Big Brother with a heartbreaking look “you’re a really big thing, you know that? You poor thing! There’s no way you can find blankets long enough to keep you warm! Don’t worry, I have an idea! M’gonna find you one, then you can be warm!”

 

The Big Brother tilted his head, what the hell had Patrick drank? Fucking Vodka? He let out the train whistle and gently pulled Patrick back into laying down.

 

The man giggled and curled up more “he..hey...I know...how about, even though I’m not so big...I can be your blanket right now”

 

More throaty purring and the Big Brother turned to lay on his side with Patrick in his arms, the smaller man was definitely drunk but if he wanted to nap it wouldn’t hurt the Big Brother to be Patrick’s bed.

 

“No-o-o-o! I wanna be the big spoon” Patrick rolled over and sat up, wobbling still “lay-lay on your back! I’m the blanket not you” 

 

The Big Brother complied, laughing internally as Patrick crawled on top and lay his head on the creature’s chest.

 

“Yeah, this is better! I’m your blanket right now...so you won’t be cold” Patrick mumbled and slowly found himself drifting to sleep “you’re really warm...like really warm...s’that normal?”

 

The Big Brother purred again and cradled Patrick for a few moments before he realized the smaller man finally fell asleep; carefully he rolled to his side and made sure Patrick was comfortabel where he lay, a nap couldn’t hurt right?


	3. Chapter 3

##  Ch. 3

_ The room was unfamiliar, a lab that felt colder than even Ross Fisheries and somehow even emptier; there was a slab of a table with straps and large medical lights shining down on the form of a thrashing figure, high pitched shrieks and cries could be heard. Patrick wasn’t sure why his body wouldn’t respond but all he knew was that he was stuck standing in the corner of the room, staring helplessly at the figure beginning to cry out louder and louder. Figures in smocks and surgical masks appeared from the shadows, scalpels and syringes in hand as the figure on the slab began to sob louder than before. _

 

_ “No, no, please God no!” Patrick’s gut dropped, it was a man and he sounded as if he’d been screaming for hours “Stop please, I don’t want to do this anymore!” _

 

_ “You already agreed to it, be silent and we’ll try making this process as fast as we can” the doctor holding the scalpel sounded bored, as if the crying man was just a dead frog to be dissected “Mr. Urie will be disappointed if you back out now” _

 

_ “I don’t fucking care, he can fuck himself over! I don’t want to do this anymore!”  _

 

_ Patrick’s breath had caught at the name of Urie, what the fuck was he seeing? “Stop! Leave him alone!” Patrick suddenly shouted as if this dream would listen to him. _

 

_ He was ignored, the syringe wielding doctor sighed annoyed as the man began to full on sob “Christ I told you we should’ve sedated him! He’s whining like a newborn child, couldn’t Urie have found a better subject?” _

 

_ “Shut up, Dr. Iero, and inject him already. You know as well as I do that if we used sedatives that would interfere with the solution” Patrick screamed when the scalpel doctor grabbed the man’s head and forced it aside, the blade slicing skin open on the screaming man’s neck “here I think is a good start” _

 

_ “You motherfuckers! Fucking let me go, let me the fuck go!” the man began thrashing worse, Patrick watched red ooze from his neck freely “Fuck Urie, fuck that son of a bitch I’m going to fucking kill him!”  _

 

_ “Jesus, slice him again, Way, maybe he’ll shut up” Dr. Iero grabbed the man’s head, Dr. Way moving aside and Patrick now trying to move forward to stop the two medical men “maybe this will soften you up” _

 

_ The syringe neared the open wound when the man jerked his head from Dr. Iero’s hold and apparently latched his teeth into the man’s wrist; the doctor screamed and the syringe fell to the ground, shattering on impact and oozing a translucent green liquid. Dr. Way immediately ran forward, slapping the man repeatedly but this seemed to encourage the man to bite harder judging by Iero’s screams. Way finally punched the man, dislodging his teeth and freeing Dr. Iero; the man stumbled back, still screaming and clutching his wrist where the man’s teeth had perfectly molded into a bloody mess. Patrick felt a strange sense of pride but only briefly until Dr. Way grabbed the man’s hair and slammed his head back down onto the table. _

 

_ “God damn you, you fucking psycho! Iero get another syringe-Don’t  _ fucking  _ question me Iero! We need this done before Urie finds out we’ve wasted a solution because this bastard couldn’t man up for a little check-up!” Dr. Way slammed the man’s head into the table again and to Patrick’s horror snatched up a scalpel from a little table next to him “try screaming now!”  _

 

_ The doctor sliced the man’s throat and Patrick again screamed as blood splurted out of the wound, a sick gurgling sound filling his ears until it was all he heard- _

 

“NO!” Patrick screamed and thrashed around, throwing himself to cold ground and crying out in pain as he bruised his jaw on impact “fuck!”

 

There was movement and he found himself being rolled onto his back, panic filling him because he didn’t recognize the room he was in and honestly he now had a pounding headache that felt more like a hangover than from hitting the floor-the faint light shining down on his was familiar, as was the figure gently cradling the back of Patrick’s head with a gloved hand and the other wrapped carefully around his hip.

 

_ Oh my god…  _ “you came back” Patrick felt a sense of deja vu, had he already said that? When had the Big Brother returned “you came back to me” 

 

Patrick wondered how many times he said it but regardless the Big Brother made the throaty purr and nodded, pulling Patrick to sit up but quickly letting go and scooting back against the wall.

 

The man found himself feeling a little cold at the sudden change, what happened to always trying to touch Patrick? “When...what happened?”

 

The Big Brother only tilted his head, making a lower purring sound...was that a good thing? 

 

“Okay…” Patrick shifted around, scooting closer to the creature and obviously surprising him “so...I remember I got drunk…”

 

A nod

 

“You found me?” he noted how his voice sounded hopeful, the Big Brother nodded and made the train whistle sound “okay...you found me and brought me wherever we are?” 

 

Another nod and Patrick didn’t flinch when the Big Brother reached over and pushed Patrick’s hair back, repeating the fond sound.

 

“Alright…” Patrick furrowed his brow and chewed on his lip “and...I fell asleep? I don’t remember anything after that, it’s all kinda fuzzy-I fell asleep on you didn’t I?” he thought he could vaguely remember curling up against the Big Brother and falling asleep in his arms-wait “hold on why was I sitting in your lap? Didn’t I fall asleep on the ground?”

 

The Big Brother only shrugged and dropped his arm back to his side

 

Patrick pursed his lips “So you moved me to sit in your lap while I was asleep? I’m not a doll I’ll have you know, I was simply unfairly born short”

 

The Big Brother let out a sound similar to a Big Daddy’s, Patrick took it as a short laugh

 

“I’m so glad I can amuse you” Patrick winced and grabbed the side of his head “agh, fuck, can-can I lay down again? Like, my head in your lap or something? Fuck I just need to lay down” with that said, he curled on his side and winced at the cold burning into his cheek.

 

The Big Brother made a sharp noise then, Patrick wincing and groaning at the sudden sliver of pain that trailed through his skull as he was pulled up and into the Big Brother’s lap.

 

“I’m not a doll, I just said that” however Patrick still leaned his head against the creature’s chest and sighed “fuck I wish I had some… I don’t know, something to make this headache go away. Are we still near the lounge?”

 

The Big Brother nodded and carefully shifted Patrick around in his lap, the smaller man scowled but allowed himself to be manhandled for the moment.

 

“There’s another building with more labs, my friend Dr Yao mentioned it to me, I need to get there. More evidence and all that shit” Patrick mumbled and shut his eyes, the diving suit scratching his face a little but it was strangely comforting and again Patrick repeated “you came back to me” 

 

They sat like that for a bit, Patrick was worried about how long he’d slept but really did it matter? Keeping track of time seemed pointless but the days were something Patrick wanted to at least keep in mind, the man sighed in pain again and turned to press his face into the diving suit; the Big Brother made a rumbling sound and Patrick felt it, he smiled a little at the strange calming effect it had on him...something Patrick suddenly noticed was the Big Brother didn’t quite...reek as bad as before, when did that happen?  _ How  _ did that happen? Patrick turned his head and looked up, pressing his chin slightly in to the creature’s chest.

 

“Where did you go? I know Rapture is huge but...you just disappeared” a tight feeling knotted in Patrick’s chest “not that I blame you, considering I basically threatened you and called you a monster-and you’re not, you’re not a monster, not to me” way to go at apologizing Stump. 

 

The Big Brother just shrugged, of course it hurt like hell Patrick had done that but he had also threatened the man so they were both at fault.

 

“I...don’t know if that means you forgive me or not but um, I’ll take that as a yes you do” Patrick smiled at the little purr he received “okay cool...um, I think my headaches a little better? We should get going, Splicers kinda seem to be more active as time goes and I guess I’m just assuming it’s a night thing”

 

Patrick was hesitant again when the Big Brother tried picking him up as they exited the room, honestly; his emotions were so mixed up he wasn’t sure what he wanted at the moment, he’d been pretty comfortable being in contact with the creature in the closet but now he just felt wrong again...wrong and sort of cold. The two made their way to a lower deck level, Elisa had mentioned Patrick would have to take a bathysphere to get to the labs much to his dismay but if he wanted to get those experiment files…

 

“You’re okay with going in a sub right?” Patrick asked once they’d reached the sub bay (after literally going through a wave of Splicers), he was standing in the opening of the ball looking curiously at the Big Brother. 

 

The creature though did something very confusing to Patrick; he walked over, reaching to ruffle Patrick’s hair, and then fucking  _ jumped into the water. _

 

“Hey!” Patrick cried out in a panicked tone, he himself almost fell into the water as he turned around and below at the tiny dot descending “what the hell…?” 

 

He moved mechanically then, stepping back to press the hatch button and pulling the level to descend into the water once it was shut; Patrick moved and pressed his back against the seats, pulling his knees up to his chest as he watched the watery world being to appear crystal clear around him. He watched as lights kicked on and soon he was making his way through the water, the buildings around him glowing ominously and several fish colonies swam around the bathysphere as if they were flocks of birds (minus the dying part where they slammed head first into the glass). Patrick gasped a little as a large squid floated by, eyes wide seeing the single eye staring at him like polished black marble; where the hell was the Big Brother? Carefully and on shaky hands and knees Patrick crawled forward and peered down at the sea floor as he moved through the water, no sign of him at all besides murky darkness and destroyed debris.

 

“Please be okay” Patrick whispered as he returned to his spot beside the seats, how far was this building? 

 

Apparently fairly far because the bathysphere began to head through several buildings, Patrick stared with wide eyes as on either side of the sub were towering skyscrapers and bright shades of blues that reminded Patrick of New York city (the few times he’d managed to get there at least, oh that was a nightmare of a week). More fish appeared, some Patrick had never seen and to his surprise (and fear) 3 sharks that seemed to slowly move through the water as if they had nowhere to be fast. Rapture truly had its moment, Patrick thought as he recognized the familiar jerk through the water as the bathysphere straightened itself and began to go through 4 metal rings until it ascended into a docking bay. The door hissed and the hatch jerked upwards, rocking the sub and making Patrick stumble as he exited it. 

 

This docking bay was...empty, so empty and it was giving Patrick the creeps; there was a lone set of steps leading up to large metal doors but that was it. Cautiously he made his way up the steps but stopped seeing no handles on the doors...was there maybe a lever or something? No indication of that or even a keypad was around, Patrick grumbled and slammed his fist into the door; was he seriously about to be denied access to all knew evidence because of these  _ fucking doors?  _ He whirled around and huffed but paused as a thought occurred, he had telekinesis! He could use that, right? To move the doors, that’s how that worked in all those books he’d read in class instead of paying attention. Patrick held his hand up and took a deep breath as he felt the ADAM in his veins switch, just focus on opening the doors and he should be able to head inside. 

 

It still felt weird using the power since he rarely had and as it surged through his veins Patrick gasped his knees went weak, dropping to the floor and catching himself with a wince at the cold metal; the doors flung open then, screeching loudly and no doubt alerting whatever monsters lay inside. Once Patrick caught his breath he was up on his feet and cautiously entered through, on the other side a lobby looking area that reminded Patrick of a hospital...well, this was supposed to be a laboratory building right? It made sense...at least he told himself that to chase away the thought that he might see even more gruesome things here. He walked down the steps and looked around; a hallway right in front of him with a desk where he assumed receptionists would be at, one to his left where a larger room was (a waiting room is what it looked like...was he in the right room?) and one to his right that looked like the darkness would swallow him up in one go.

 

Patrick shivered as he stared at the darkened office behind the desk, the glass reflected the lights yet inside looked as if no light could enter. The man scowled at himself suddenly, what the hell was making himself think about ghost stories for? The only thing even remotely ghoul-like had been the Splicers and the Little Sisters, no spectrals with white sheets and cut out eye-holes waiting to snatch Patrick into the dark kicking and screaming. And yet as Patrick slowly made his way towards the waiting area, the large window showing out into the ocean and the blue city lights casting eerie shadows onto the tile floor, his mind began to wander back to the dream...well Patrick wanted to call it a dream but there was no way it had been; the man had lucid dreamt only a few occasions in his life but never had they been like that. 

Patrick sat down on a little waiting couch, it was stiff and definitely not comfortable but he was fairly certain comfort was the least important thing to this building in its prime; he leaned his head back and sighed, closing his eyes for a moment while listening to the sounds of the sea life outside. It was actually terrifying as one would expect, but it had become a sort of comfort to Patrick in favor of the rabid sounds of Splicers; his head snapped up once he heard the deep rolling sound of the whale and sure enough the large creature was swimming by the building, this time Patrick ran straight away to the glass and stared in awe as it gracefully dipped through the buildings. He couldn’t help but smile, it began to pass by the building he was currently in and sure you could’ve called him a child for thinking it but he swore that wide brown eye looked straight at him. 

 

A loud crashing sound somewhere had Patrick whirling around fast, too fast as he lost his foot and ended up slamming his head back into the window and sinking to the ground with a low moan of pain; he snapped out of that quickly and stared at the hallway past the receptionist area, was that a light? As much as Patrick wanted to believe it was the Big Brother (the asshole! Where was he?) he didn’t want to get his hopes up, quickly he moved one of the couches a little and hid behind it; yes it seemed idiotic but he doubted hopping over the desk would’ve been an any better bet!

 

He held his breath as he waited, the sound of footsteps coming closer  _ were  _ familiar but...but it could’ve also been a Big Daddy-or something like a Big Daddy, shit what if there actually was more Big Brother’s? What if there was something even _ worse _ than that, something that would’ve even dwarfed the Big Brother and could’ve torn Patrick to shreds-

 

_ -trick? Patrick where are you? _

 

The screech Patrick let out was embarrassing, but so was slamming his head into the wall and immediately curling into the fetal position “God fucking dammit!”

 

Patrick crawled out to see the Big Brother standing in the middle of the waiting room, he made the Big-Daddy-like sounds again and Patrick realized the damn thing was laughing at him.

 

“Oh shut up” Patrick grumbled as he stood, rubbing his head “What the hell was that all about, huh? You just-you just plopped into the fucking water like it was totally natural! You could’ve like, told me-oh…never mind” 

 

The man turned bright red when the Big Brother tilted his head and actually fucking placed a hand on a cocked hip; did Patrick just get sassed at?

 

“Fucking sassing me and you can’t even talk”the smaller huffed but found he wasn’t really angry “that scared me, being alone I mean. I thought something bad happened to you”

 

The Big Brother made the train whistle sound again, walking over and kneeling down to wrap his arms around Patrick.

 

Patrick wasn’t sure why but he immediately cuddled up into the creature’s arms and sighed “it’s fine, just...like I’m sure I should’ve already guessed you’d be fine underwater but it kind of was a surprise when you just pat my head and...ya know, plopped into the fucking water”

 

More train whistle noise, Patrick sighed and pressed his face into the Big Brother’s shoulder shutting his eyes before snapping them back open wide and shoving himself out of the creatures’ arms.

 

“Ho-hold the phone for a second!” his voice cracked and he could see his tiny reflection in the helmets glass, he looked crazed “I-you said my name? You were saying Patrick!” 

 

The Big Brother seemed to go statue still, oh cripes was Patrick just going insane after all?

 

“You...you weren’t” it sounded more of a statement than the question he’d hoped it would be, why did it disappoint him that he was wrong?

 

But then the Big Brother was shaking his head quickly, he tugged Patrick back into his arms and made the throaty purr again.

 

“You were?” again the excitement and anxiety was back, what did this mean? Did this mean Patrick was starting to-to have the same kind of bond Clara had with the creature? “Wait- wait, wait, let me go for a second”

 

Reluctantly the creature did...but he held onto Patrick’s tiny hands.

 

Patrick allowed it though now he felt as if there was a buzzing in his chest “you...you were talking to me, like you were….you said ‘Patrick where are you” 

 

The Big Brother again froze for a few moments; something in the back of Patrick’s mind started to tingle but quickly fade, immediately the Big Brother’s shoulders slumped a bit and he let out a pitiful sound Patrick had never heard before.

 

“Hey-oh, oh just now you were...have you been talking to me since we-no okay hold on” Patrick let out a frustrated forced breath, collecting himself and his thoughts as best as he could “Okay you...you clearly can’t-you  _ can  _ talk to me but not as clearly as you are able to just yet, right?”

 

A nod.

 

“And...do you know how...uh, your...situation...is?” Patrick scrunched his face up in annoyance, what the hell did that even mean! “Do you know how the bond between you and a Little Sister work?”

 

Another nod though the hesitance was noted.

 

“Okay...but you can’t tell me” Patrick winced at that obvious yes “So next question...this building is supposed to be just, laboratory after laboratory...were you made here?”

 

Patrick couldn’t have chosen any worse wording; the Big Brother dropped the smaller man’s hands and stood up quickly, making the other back up in fear upon seeing the familiar orangish light.

 

Patrick took a few more steps back whimpering, the light turned back to a soft yellow and the creature reached for him “ _ No!’  _

 

The shout spooked them both, the Big Brother stared at Patrick and made the same pained whimpers he had when Patrick healed him.

 

“God dammit” Patrick suddenly said, sliding a hand through his hair in frustration and gripping the strawberry blond strands “fuck okay, that was clearly not appropriate to ask but...but look if this, what I could be reading way into but if you want to have a bond with me or whatever then you and I need to start trusting each other. You need to not get angry at me and trust me I know from other people that is almost impossible but you-I keep wanting to run away or defend myself when you get angry”

 

There was the rolling sound with no pitch, Patrick shut his eyes and forced out a sigh.

 

“And, and I need to know that you’re not going to hurt me and I’m trying to realize that...but I heard a voice earlier and I remember before I got shitfaced I heard someone. That was you and you don’t even have to nod or do any noises because I know it was which is leading to be certain that there is...there’s some kind of science bullshit going on between us but I can’t understand it because it’s so...so weak I guess right now and you can’t explain it to me. Hell I don’t even think you understand it all that well either so we’re basically stuck in a box”

 

Silence, then the Big Brother reached down and tugging on Patrick’s arm until he’s holding the smaller man’s left hand.

 

Patrick cracks a small smile at that “You’re like...really touchy, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before…” now Patrick was frowning “I don’t mind this but...but we need to talk about some ground rules”

 

The Big Brother tilted his head, ground rules?

 

“Okay so I know I was all ‘let me touch and hug you and cuddle you’ when I was drunk and I know even when I’m sober I’m-like a few seconds ago? I hugged you and I kept cuddling you. I just...I sound like such a shitty guy for saying this but I’m gonna...cut back on some of your...touching Patrick privileges”

 

There’s a low groaning sound;disapproval, really?

 

“Don’t you give me that” Patrick scowled then sighed again before wiggling his arm “like-like you holding my arm or hand that’s an okay. The other stuff we’ve been doing though-the cuddling and snuggling stuff, the you petting my head...that’s...that’s going to be a no right now”

 

Again with the disapproving groan, Patrick was tempted to take his hand back.

 

“Look I have this theory okay? I want to see if I’m right but the only way I can confirm that is if you tell me if you were made in this building” Patrick’s expression is hard but softens when the Big Brother lets out the same whimper “hey, please, I need to know. It’s important for the sake of both of us, for this bond okay?”  _ God it sounds like I’m in a marriage I’m desperate for-no! I’m not that desperate for this bond to happen. _

 

The creature let out a high pitched whine, Patrick assumed it was supposed to be a sigh since he no longer seemed deflated; he almost missed when the Big Brother nodded.

 

“Oh” Patrick chewed on his lip and looked up at him “right well that’s one mystery solved” 

 

With that, Patrick pulled his hand away and started heading towards the left hallway; he felt like a dick now as he just barged into the total darkness, hadn’t he said it was fine the Big Brother held his hand, what if the creature still did? The sound of the clunking boots following had Patrick relaxing though and soon they came to their first door. Patrick expected that he’d have to pick it though he did try turning the knob-and the door swung right open, making him jump back and bump into the Big Brother.

 

“What the fuck” he looked up at the Big Brother confuserd before hesitantly inching towards the door “um...hey so...can you be a flashlight for a second?”

 

There was a pause then the same amused sound, Patrick pouted but the Big Brother’s light shone into the room.

 

Cautiously Patrick entered and immediately fumbled against the wall to find the lightswitch; his hand finding something but he paused...why was it sticky? Patrick’s gut told him not to but he flipped the switch on anyway. Nothing could prepare him, nothing he had seen in Rapture could’ve made him ready, nothing could help Patrick understand any of what he briefly saw before he was pulled out of the room and pushed further down the hall where he collapsed onto his knees and began to vomit. Arms wrapped around him and he was pulled against the Big Brother, immediately Patrick buried his face into him to try and steady his breathing; so much for the no touching rule but at the moment the oddly comforting scent of stale burlap was helping the buzzing in Patrick’s head. 

 

“Wha...what the fuck...what the fuck did I just see?” Patrick croaks, he’s trembling like a house in a tornado “everywhere...dear God it was everywhere…”

 

There’s a new sound, the train whistle but lower, and the Big Brother is rocking Patrick in his arms best he can. 

 

“No” Patrick suddenly says, pushing and wriggling out of the Big Brother’s hold “no-I’m not a fucking pussy, after everything I’ve seen I’ll be fine”

 

The Big Brother wasn’t having it, immediately he grabbed Patrick by his arm and pulled him back against him, the low rumbling sound happening again. 

 

“Oh  _ no _ you fucking don’t! I just went on a rant about how we need to trust each other!” Patrick jerked at his arm, it ached horribly but he continued doing so “I trust you, you need to trust me! I can’t-there’s no way I saw what I saw and I need to be sure of it, let me go!”

 

To Patrick’s surprise, the Big Brother released his arm and stepped back a few steps; he made a low disapproving sound but allowed Patrick to stumble back into the doorway.

 

Of course Patrick fell to his knees again once he was in the doorway but this time he held in the bile “Oh...oh-h-h-h” he moaned weakly and held his gut “It’s….everywhere...it’s everywhere and oh God it’s fresh isn’t it? Look how wet it is”

 

Inside the room was absolute carnage, nothing compared to what Patrick had seen in the lower decks where most of the Splicers had gathered due to the shipping areas; no, no, this was walls painted in fresh blood and bits of flesh and organs were hanging about as if deranged decorations. Patrick let out another low moan and found himself throwing up again as he realized he had something smeared over his hand when he touched the lightswitch-oh  _ God was it human shit?!  _ He screamed and started trying to wipe it off on the wall, out of his peripheral vision though Patric saw a pair of two bright green eyes staring at him from a bloody pool.

 

Patrick. Fucking. Lost. It.

 

He doesn’t realize he’s screamed until he’s scrambled back and out of the hallway, doesn’t really realize where the hell he’s running to until his knees hit cold steel and he’s shoving both his arms into the freezing waters; Patrick’s still spitting up bile and tears have burned his eyes completely, why is everything blurry? Shit did he leave his glasses-the Big Brother’s there behind him, he has Patrick’s glasses in one hand and wraps his arm around the man’s middle pulling him back a bit. Patrick choked on a sob and pulled his arms out of the water, they stung as he tried moving them and placed his glasses back on his face with a broken “thank you”; the Big Brother lets out a deep purring rumble and Patrick leans into him with a terrified and breathy laugh, fuck the no touching rule he decided.

 

“I-I’ll be fine just...let me breathe real quick” God Patrick’s stomach feels like it’s in a tilt-a-whirl ride “We-we’re skipping that room okay it’s just...just straight up carnage”

 

The Big Brother only squeezes Patrick’s middle gently in response. 

 

Patrick felt sick as he walked by the room, the Big Brother had moved to block his vision but regardless the man could  _ smell  _ the copper in the air as if it were all he could breathe now; the terrifying thing though was now neither side of the hallway and worst of all even with the light from the helmet Patrick felt as if the darkness was crushing him. Another thing he noticed as they made their way was that the buzzing feeling in the base of his skull hadn’t quite gone away...if anything it had sort begun to grow and move throughout his head, even making his nose tingle a bit. It felt like an eternity before Patrick saw the hallway ended at a wall but continued right, he felt queasy as the Big Brother’s light landed perfect on a door. 

 

Patrick’s fear however was taken over by his reporter’s sense of curiosity upon seeing the black letters reading  Dr.    Way,  why was the first name gone? Without thinking he left the Big Brother’s side, the creature letting out a soft hissing groan as Patrick’s arm slipped from his hold; the man stood then before the door and tried rubbing at the glass as if the blacked out part was merely dirt, he scowled seeing it was fruitless then noticed how... _ pristine _ the door was, why wasn’t anything else in this building trashed like that nightmare room? He’s lost in thought, the reporter in his mind working overtime now trying to remember if Urie mentioned any doctors still alive and why the name was so familiar-

 

“ _ Slice him up Way”  _ Patrick’s eyes widen and his breath hitches “ _ Shut up, Dr. Iero, and inject him already”  _ No “ _ God damn you, you fucking psycho!”  _ the image is foggy in Patrick’s mind but the voice is nightmarishly clear “ _ Try screaming now!”  _ the nightmare room flashes before Patrick’s eyes again along with the foggy image of a scalpel tearing deep into someone’s throat.

 

Something skitters to Patrick’s right, it’s so faint he almost doesn’t hear it but he knows what shoes on slick ground sound like. His heart leaps to his throat as he whirls around to face the other wallway-more footsteps and Patrick swears he’s choking on the rapidly beating organ; he can’t move, body won’t listen no matter what, and sure enough glowing eyes are staring at Patrick from the end of the hallway. The man can’t scream, can’t even breathe as the figure slowly begins to move closer and the sound of clicking shoes fills the hall until they turn into an all on sprint; finally Patrick does scream as the figure comes into view as they lunge at Patrick, it’s clearly an overspliced doctor but the man almost looks un-infected by the ADAM’s sickness, but then the figure is batted away by the metal blade and crashing into a wall. 

 

The shriek they let out was a piercing laughter and as soon as they’d appeared they’d just as quickly raced back the hallway they came, chanting something or other and Patrick swore he caught a name. The Big Brother knelt on one knee, blade retracted and carefully he moved Patrick to face him; the smaller man’s blue eyes looked unfocused, reminding the Big Brother of the blue neon signs that hung on the skyscrapers in the city, he hesitated before gently shaking Patrick’s shoulders.

 

“It was him” Patrick suddenly whispered, almost too silent for either to hear “him, he was...he’s all spliced how...can ADAM make you live longer…?” 

 

The Big Brother softly chirped and scooped Patrick up again, if the smaller man wanted to uphold the ‘no touching me’ rule he was going to just to tell the creature not to. 

 

Patrick looked at the creature though, eyes beginning to focus again “I’ve seen that man before-that office belongs to Dr. Way and I’ve heard that name before”

 

Another chirp and they were suddenly hurrying out of the darkened hallway, Patrick whimpered and pressed himself against the Big Brother again.

 

They entered the lobby once more but what baffled Patrick was that the Big Brother turned and headed into the middle hall instead of taking them both to the bathysphere, wasn’t that the reason they were running? He didn’t question it though, not when he heard the sound of those running shoes heading after them. Patrick stared at the windows of the rooms as they ran through, it seemed the middle hall had most of the examining rooms and all of them were in the same dingy looking yet clean state; at one point as they raced down another hall Patrick noticed what looked like a broken machine laying on its side as if-

 

“Oh my God that was you I heard, you knocked that over didn’t you?” Patrick started to giggle hysterically and honestly it terrified the Big Brother (though he was fairly certain it was because Patrick was terrified as well). 

 

Whoever was chasing them wasn’t done though, every chance Patrick glanced back he’d seem those glowing eyes and as they reached light Patrick felt horror realizing that it was indeed the Dr. Way from whatever fucked up nightmare he’d had...an hour ago? Fuck how long had it been, time meant nothing in Rapture for fuck’s sake! This thought was thrown aside as Patrick was  _ tossed  _ through the fucking air and squealed as he landerd not so gracefully on what seemed to be piles of garbage-fish bones to be exact as some of them stabbed through the bag and into Patrick’s sweater. He quickly sat up and stared as the Big Brother swung his arm, blade extended out, at the lunging Dr. Way who seemed to move acrobatically away and cackled wildly.

 

“ _ You’re alive! You’re alive, you didn’t drown and you’re alive! How perfect, so perfect!”  _  the voice was so high pitched and distorted it sounded anything but human (but he wasn’t, was he? Splicers weren’t human anymore).

 

The Big Brother let out the familiar threatening growl and Patrick watched as the light turned a hellish red.

 

“ _ Ooh, Baby boy’s getting angry? Where was that spit fire when you strapped to the table!”  _ again Dr. Way easily jumps out the way, to Patrick’s horror there’s a silver glint and he watched the Big Brother back away “ _ o-hoo-hoo no! Did I cut your veins open? Let me see what that injection did to you!”  _

 

Patrick had suddenly come to his senses hearing that, the dream racing back into clear view-God no, not a dream but a-and suddenly the weight of his satchel is heavier than before. Without even thinking Patrick reaches in and pulls out an EVE shot, once his arm fills with the blue Patrick’s standing and shouts “duck!” as he freezes the doctor to the wall. The Big Brother raises his arm then, the blade ready to shatter the Splicer but froze when Patrick shrieked “no, don’t!”

 

Arm still raised, the red light turned onto Patrick; a confused and angered sound came from the Big Brother.

 

The smaller man shook his head, even he didn’t know why he said that “Fucking-fucking I don’t know! Knock him out, I don’t fucking know! I don’t want to fucking be in this building anymore, I just want to find the room with files about you so we can fuck off back to the luxury building and I can get drunk off my ass again!”

  
  


He didn’t know why, he didn’t know why but he was balled up in the Bathysphere letting out broken occasional whimpers as he hid his face in his hands.The Big Brother had listened to him; as soon as Way thawed out the Big Brother socked him in the face and the spliced doctor went down for the count. Patrick had thought that was that, the two could find the lab room about the Big Brother and get the hell out of Dodge. No apparently, because as Patrick turned around once they reached the lobby again he froze upon seeing the red had not left the Big Brother at all. His mouth went dry as he tried to ask what was wrong but that was replaced by him getting manhandled again, Patrick was confused as he was taken back to the docking bay and was thrown against one of the seats in the bathysphere. The man sat up quickly and stared in confusion as the creature then turned and headed back into the building, leaving Patrick alone wondering just...what happened.

 

He wasn’t sure how long he had been waiting but it was enough that Patrick was beginning to feel the buzz even more present again, he clapped his hand against the back of his head at one point to try and stop it but that only served to make it worse. Patrick tried then, tried thinking about just leaving the bathysphere but that red light, the red light directed  _ at him  _ had Patrick staying put (though he moved to sit on the floor of the bathysphere). Of course after a longer while Patrick heard maniacal screeching and flew at the lever to shut the hutch, once it was closed he rolled onto his side so his back faced the glass and covered his head. Dr. Way was alive but part of Patrick was saying that  _ couldn’t  _ make sense because-he clearly knew the BIg Brother so that meant that...and how long had it been since Rapture went to shit? 

 

Patrick let out a shaky breath and squeezed his ears until they burned and released them; that dream...it couldn’t have been a dream, too vivid and too painfully real, it had been a memory. But it wasn’t Patrick’s, Patrick had never been to a doctor’s office like that...so it was the Big Brother’s then, it must’ve been-but that didn’t make sense! 

 

_ Fucking nothing does, you know nothing about this and even the Big Brother is trying to understand what’s going on  _ Patrick rolled onto his other side and stared out the glass hatch  _ Where is he? What if Dr. Way found him and killed him, what if I made him mad asking him to leave the Splicer alone-that has to be it, he’s sick of me now and- _

 

_ -NOT GOING TO FUCKING LEAVE YOU IDIOT FUCKING- _

 

Patrick screamed and clapped his hands over his ears again, pain rattled through his skull and tears brimmed his eyes; the buzzing in his skull had suddenly turned into blinding white pain, what the fuck was going on? Was this the-Patrick knew he and the Big Brother were starting to have a bond but it was  _ just  _ starting by the guesses Patrick could make from what Clara said! So why the fuck had he just heard a booming voice exploding in his fucking head-the buzzing suddenly died down back to a soft whisper, the pain was still there but dying down a tad.

 

Carefully Patrick sat up, trembling and softly he whimpered out “you-are you there?”

 

There was the buzzing again and Patrick gasped in surprise at the soft  sorry, I’m so sorry, Patrick I’m so-

 

It cut out though, but it was still...it was still something “I-come back, please, I don’t know how long you’ve been gone but come back please I want to just leave”

 

No response, Patrick shut his eyes and tried focusing on the buzzing feeling but...it stayed the same, a soft whisper.

 

“I-if you’re talking I can’t hear you again” Patrick sighed and rubbed at his tear streaked cheeks “please just hurry, I’m sorry if I sound like I’m being hurt but I...I don’t know”  _ You scared me, you scared me so much when you looked at me that way  _ Patrick is silently praying the Big Brother can’t hear his thoughts.

 

Time drags on more and Patrick finds himself playing with the Big Brother doll, how the hell he  _ still  _ managed to keep track of the thing was beyond him but he wasn’t going to complain when it was bringing more comfort than the real one at the moment. A loud clanking sound made Patrick jump and jerk his head up, expecting to see Dr. Way or something else; instead, it was the Big Brother carrying a large bag with a few folder edges sticking out. Patrick was sure that once upon a time he’d been more excited seeing the evidence but instead, as he pushes the lever to open the hatch, he’s more excited to be able to see the Big Brother again; having clearly thrown the rules out the window, Patrick threw his arms around the creature’s shoulders when he bent down a bit to drop the satchel beside Patrick.

 

The Big Brother made the chirping sound, freezing up but quickly shoving Patrick away; the small man stumbled back and landed on his butt, looking up at him confused. The light was yellow, he wasn’t mad, why didn’t he want to touch Patrick? 

 

_ Because you wouldn't let him kill Dr. Way, he probably hurt him and you wouldn't let him get revenge. He’s going to leave you all alone in Rapture now, have fun with that you idiot  _ Patrick felt his stomach growing cold at that thought. 

 

The Big Brother let out a groan that sounded like an annoyed child, to Patrick’s surprise he bent down a little and crawled around Patrick to sit in the Bathysphere. They stared at each other for a few moments before Patrick carefully stood up and pushed the lever down again, the hatch shutting and after Patrick typed in the coordinates for the luxury building they were submerged again. Patrick sat against the wall as far as he could, even pressing himself against it and turning so he stared at the copper hull; he probably looked like a child throwing a silent tantrum, it was foolish of him to be acting this way anyway, but what the hell was with the Big Brother? The creature never seemed to mind touching Patrick, had clearly disliked the no-touching rule but now he just shoved Patrick away after  _ Patrick  _ was the one who initiated the contact. 

 

The bag is still where the Big Brother had left it, Patrick eyes one of the folders that’s begun to slip out and grabs it after a few moments; it was a binder and upon opening the first page Patrick furrowed his brow seeing that it was a report to be directed to a Dr. Toro, to his right he heard the soft dolphin sound and grit his teeth in annoyance. So he didn’t want Patrick reading this shit in front of him? He shouldn't have gotten into the fucking bathysphere with him, he shouldn't have shoved Patrick away when he tried hugging him again; internally Patrick was scolding himself for acting like a scorned lover, he ignored both sides of himself and began reading;

 

ERGENT: Dr. Toro

 

It would seem project  is failing miserably, as if that were surprising. Subject keeps damaging vocal chords with constant screaming, I’m sure everyone in the entire 1st floor by now can recite subject’s speech about murdering Urie. 

 

Dr. Way and Dr. Way have been at work in the labs attempting to create an appropriate sedative that will cause subject to finally become unconscious.

 

Note: reduction in muscles is concerning, Subject will not eat and we’ve had to force a feeding tube into him once he is asleep. Once asleep is the only time the sedatives work, much to our frustration seeing as most of us have other important things to work on instead of keeping alive a screaming child. 

 

Dr. Iero’s wound has not yet healed and Dr. Way has taken the subject’s attack on him personally, I am concerned about it as well though I wish to keep the subject from getting an infection. I suggest we put Dr. Iero in quarantine for the moment until his shoulder is healed, we don’t need diseases mucking up the solutions.

 

With your permission, Dr. Toro, I would like to run a few tests on the subject to test my theory about whether the subject has ADAM inside his stomach. In case you haven’t noticed recently some has gone missing and I thought I saw the inside of the subject’s mouth glowing red the other day.

 

  1. HOPPUS



 

Patrick blinked, then slowly turned to look at the Big Brother, the creature had apparently been staring at him the whole time he’d read the report “...do...do you have ADAM in you?”

 

The light turned orange and Patrick received a warning growl.

 

Patrick tried mimicking the growl of his own, even baring his teeth as if he were a dog “No, fuck you. You don’t want me to read these? You shouldn't have left them where I can reach them” 

 

Immediately the light turned yellow and the dolphin sound came again, the Big Brother hunched his shoulders a tad and Patrick felt a pang of guilt in his gut.

 

He didn't’ react though, trying to keep a poker face, and flipping a few pages ahead to another report in the binder; he felt cold seeing the familiar name of Dr. Martinez in one sentence, what the hell did a face-lifting doctor have to do with this project?

 

Report to: Dr. Hoppus

 

Dr. Hoppus

I regret to inform you that the solution has once again expired due to the mishandling and poor housing of the vial. Dr. Way and Dr. Way are now attempting to create an entirely new batch but until then we more or less have a comatose subject. However it seems that subject can still hear us, when Dr. Way began his unfortunate attack upon subject after hand, before subject would shake head occasionally and at one point seemed to try moving arms. Dr. Way has been momentarily detained and will be kept under heavy watch, he shouldn’t have allowed his emotions to interfere and as Mr. Ross says, don’t mix friendship with business.

 

Note: Subject’s muscle decreation has finally stopped though it seems impossible for the subject now to do any of the tasks Mr. Urie requires of subject. Mr. Ross visited earlier today to give his condolences to Dr. Way and to check on Mr. Urie’s pet project, he seems as impressed as Mr. Urie did. Subject’s vocal cords are not as damaged as we assumed but can only communicate in animalistic sounds and certain whistling, it is quite annoying and I beg you to allow me to permanently silence the subject; he has no need for speech, Mr. Urie is not paying us to create a little assistant and you know this as well as I do. Subject’s eyes have begun to take on a yellowish glow to them, upon having one of those little freaks stab the subject it seemed the subject once again was sneaking ADAM into its  body. The Solution inside the subject is working much better than we could’ve hoped for, the only thing we need now is for the subject to wake up.

 

I have more concerns though, Dr. Hoppus, regarding Dr. Martinez in the medical bay. She seems to have started to take liberties with her “craft” as she started to call it, speaking in this...clearly drugged dreamy tone. I think she’s finally succumbed to her own ADAM addiction, what a surprise. Earlier today she asked to come to the labs to “see our beautiful pet”, naturally I declined and called security before she could stick me with one of those scalpels she keeps on her at all times. Her sudden obsession with the subject is concerning seeing as she should have no knowledge about it at all. I know you think it inappropriate to have my own theories but I think Mr. Ross is leaking information whenever he visits. 

 

I advise you to keep a close eye on that psychotic plastic surgeon and keep an eye on that snake Ross. Mr. Urie is paying us to keep this project hush hush and so far those monstrous Big Daddies have bonded with the Little Sisters, if Mr. Urie intends that on the Big Brother I’m afraid you or Dr. Skibba will have to explain to him why that bond will most likely lead us to several thousands of dollars into a mess.

 

Also I am concerned about the color of the solution; I am aware of how trivial this is but I recall it needing to be blue, not as green as mucus coming from a dying man.

 

Dr. Dirnt

 

Patrick felt cold, what the hell was this report? And how long had this report been since the first once, weren’t doctors supposed to date these or something? The binder suddenly felt like Patrick was holding a poisonous snake, he dropped it as if it would strike him and made both him and the Big Brother jump. Again he turned to look at the creature, the yellow light was faint but still there and the buzzing...the buzzing had stayed steady but now it seemed to be increasing in pressure. Patrick snapped out of whatever stupor he was in and stood up from the seat to sit by the bag, he pulled out a manilla folder with the name DR. ARMSTRONG written on it and flipped it open-wait, what? Patrick frowned, there weren’t any reports in this...these looked like private writings. 

 

And oh, that sparked the reporter inside Patrick’s mind;

 

I don’t see the point in dating these, it’s hard to remember time passes when you’re below the fucking ocean and the sun’s more like some kind of a dream. Honestly I know writing these down could be the start of my own death but I could care less, I need to do this to keep sane.

 

Brendon fucking Urie, that fucking kid.

 

That’s what he is too, a fucking kid that daddy gave the shiny keys to a new car to.

 

Rapture wasn’t his to begin with, his father shouldn't have given the fucking kid the keys to the city but we all make mistakes and that so called “accidental drowning” incident might fool the public or hell maybe even they aren’t that dumb but it sure as hell doesn’t fool me. I know that kid drowned his own father, didn’t need a backseat driver telling him how to run Rapture when the kid had his fucking friend around with him.

 

Speaking of his friend, they both rub me the wrong way. Brendon used to be such a bright eyed kid, I remember seeing him a few times in the farmer’s market with his mom buying something for dinner. I want to blame that kid, that Ryan kid, but I can’t when Urie’s the one signing my checks. It could be cruel of me to assume it’s that Ryan kid’s fault Brendon seemed to turn into a shadow of his former self but I’m not going to piss off and be afraid to say it. I think that fucking kid poisoned Urie’s mind and caused a stupid kid to drown his father probably under the assumption that he and Ryan could run Rapture together. 

 

Still, we got a new bunch of visitors earlier; a few families but the one that I noticed the most was a man with his wife and their son, I got a bad feeling as soon as the father was approached by one of Urie’s men. They got to talking and I watched as the family walked away with the man, what the hell was Urie trying to do? It’s none of my business but when I got back to the labs today I was told by Dr. Skibba informed me that Ryan had visited and apparently Brendon has us a new pet project to work on. I hated it as soon as I read the damn form, THE BIG BROTHER PROJECT, really? First we had Big Daddies and Little Sisters and oh boy did I want to wring Ryan’s neck when he announced the orphanage, those sweet little girls forced to take those fucking drugs instead of grow up how they should but now we were going to have a Big Brother? 

 

The form didn’t say much else and that pissed me off even more, Skibba just told me to calm down and get back to work on the Big Sisters. That fucking project creeps me out even more, why the hell couldn’t Urie just be satisfied with the Big Daddies? Most of the fucking patients we have regarding those girls are all kinds of crazy, I’m glad I’m not assigned to personally injecting them. So far the project has worked out but I’m starting to think I’m losing it, there’s more reports and rumors about terrorists day to day and Urie’s just sitting on his throne while citizens of Rapture start panicking and sooner or later I know shit will hit the fan.

 

I promised Axel I’d be off work today around lunch and ended up working late, I’ve never seen him so angry before but really I can’t blame him. I’d be pretty pissed too, he’d wanted to see one of Weekes’ shows though I can’t really understand why but hey I wanted him to be happy. 

 

He left 2 hours ago, I’m really starting to get worried. I’m going to head out in a bit if I need to, maybe he just went to the bar and got shitfaced again. Miles will be pissed at me but hey, maybe the bartender should listen to me when I say he should turn the backroom into a place for drunks to crash.

 

It ended there; Patrick was still frowning in confusion, why the hell had this been in that lab place if it was basically a journal? Even the guy himself, Armstrong, said it was dangerous for him to be doing that. However he immediately noticed Brendon’s name and recalled Sarah warning Patrick about Ryan, this was definitely perfect dirt on the two if Brendon murdered his own father (the reporter recalled the testimony of Brendon saying his father had offed himself because he’d become addicted to drugs down below the ocean, everyone at the office knew a murder when they heard it). Something moved in Patrick’s vision and he looked up at the hatch to gasp and scramble back, several sharks were swimming past the sub and sure it was interesting but he hadn’t seen that many outside the luxury building. He heard the Big Brother make the train sound, even felt the gloved hand brush his shoulder, but he jerked away and sent the creature a warning glare; he received his own glare and the Big Brother went back to sitting against the opposing wall. 

 

Patrick’s look softened a bit and he sighed, was he really still going to be childish? There had to have been a reason that Big Brother had pushed him away, of course there was! The creature had been trying to constantly touch Patrick, even when he was carrying Patrick under certain circumstances of protecting him he was in physical contact with the smaller man so there  _ had  _ to have been a reason that made sense. He was sure he’d find it eventually, right now though he doubted he’d be able to find it judging by the fact that there were several folders and binders, all thick and thin in their own way; with another sigh Patrick closed the folder and stood up again. The Big Brother looked at him as he walked over to it, he could clearly see how tense the creature had become but he decided he didn’t care; Patrick flopped into the creature’s lap before he could react, as soon as the Big Brother reached down to push Patrick away the smaller man wrapped his arms around the creature’s left arm and clung tight like some kind of gremlin.

 

He shot him a glare again “you’re always all over me, and now you don’t want me anywhere near you? You could’ve been killed by that fucking thing-wait!” the scalpel slashing the Big Brother, Patrick had completely forgotten about it.

 

The Big Brother growled lightly and tried prying Patrick off his arm, now the man was actually crawling along the creature’s arm until he felt the rip in the diving suit; so that was why he had come along with Patrick. 

 

“You did get cut, fuck did he cut your skin?” as Patrick asked this he tried slipping his fingers into the sleeve when he was finally and roughly pried from the creature’s arm “Ow, fuck! You’re hurting my hip!” 

 

The Big Brother dropped Patrick on his lap, the smaller man squeaked as he was squished against the Big Brother’s chest way too tightly; there was the warning growl again and Patrick decided to go limp (more or less) against the creature, the arms loosened a bit but he wasn’t being pushed away anymore.

 

Patrick shut his eyes and sighed softly “I’m sorry I-fuck, I’m sorry. I forgot you don’t want me to see whatever’s beneath your diving suit. I got worried and scared, you’re not cut?”

 

He was squeezed gently.

 

Patrick smiled a little and curled more into the Big Brother’s lap “Why didn’t you let me hug you? I got scared that splicer killed you”

 

There was a sound, was it the annoyed one? Patrick thought it was.

 

“Right” he said slowly, letting out his own annoyed sigh “you can’t tell me because I can’t hear you just yet...there’s, there’s files about you in that bag right?” 

 

A nod.

 

“Okay” Patrick shifted around and opened his eyes finally, looking out of the hatch “Did it take this long before for me? I can’t remember” the luxury building was still a distant dot.

 

They stayed that way for a few more minutes, Patrick was contently comfortable and actually starting to doze off when the buzzing started to spread slowly up the back of his skull again; he scrunched up his face and shook his head a bit. The Big Brother noticed this and started to push Patrick away, the smaller started to protest when he was again manhandled and turned to face the Big Brother in a straddling position. He narrowed his eyes a bit, how was this any different from him laying on- _ oh duh. _

 

“That’s it then, physical contact? Is it because I’m near your heart or something, is that making this...bond thing happen?” Patrick felt stupid then, the Big Brother couldn’t answer him even if Patrick was right.

 

The Big Brother seemed to share Patrick’s frustration, letting out the annoyed growl from before. 

 

But Patrick smiled at that “can’t tell me, can you? I have to look through all those folders myself…” he sighed and shook his head, he dropped his head a bit and stared at his hands in his lap “I’m sorry, I keep asking all these things and you can’t even answer me. All this time I thought you didn’t really even know what I was saying anyway, I was being a pompous asshole and assumed you were just like the Big Daddies and didn’t...I’m sorry” 

 

He didn’t know where that came from or why that came out, it just did; the Big Brother however, even if he was offended, merely reached up and slid his hand through Patrick’s hair again. 

 

“You forgive me?” Patrick mumbled meekly, the creature nodded and Patrick felt relieved “okay...is that buzzing you? Like, when you get frustrated or something? Mad?”

 

All the creature does is nod, Patrick’s suddenly aware he’s being pet. 

 

“Hey” he gently pushed the Big Brother’s hand away from his head, fixing his hair “why do you do that? Did you do that to Clara?”

 

He noticed the Big Brother flinch at the girl’s name and feels guilt instantly, the creature doesn’t seem to care (or he does but doesn’t show it or Patrick can’t hear it) and again he returns to petting Patrick.

 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned her...she’s safe, incase you were wondering where she went” No reaction, Patrick’s feeling stupid “she gave me the doll of you, she was the one who told me that you’d come back for me and told me about you being able to talk telepathically”

 

The Big Brother tilts his head and paused, the rubber feels weird against the side of Patrick’s head but he leans into it and hears the Big Brother chirp.

 

“I wish I knew what that meant” Patrick flinched at his own words and sighed heavily “I don’t even know why I’m suddenly so desperate for this fucking bond to work. I ran from you like you were the devil the first time I saw you and I thought you were going to hurt me again when you saved me from that fucking Big Sister. Now I don’t want you to leave me, now I’m scared you’re  _ going  _ to permanently leave me because I keep getting angry at you when it’s not even your fault I can’t understand you. I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I don’t want to be alone in Rapture and that sounds so fucked up but maybe that’s really it, maybe I don’t want to be alone anymore in Davy Jones’ hell and you-you’re here”

 

The Big Brother stayed silent for a few moments before nodding; he knew a thing or two about being alone, especially down in Rapture. He made the train sound again and suddenly pulled Patrick into a quick hug. 

 

Patrick squeaked but looped his arms around the creature’s neck and hooked his wrists over each other, the helmet was freezing cold “god that sounds so fucking selfish of me, saying you’re here and saying it like you’re just a convenience. You’re not, really you’re not you-you’ve protected me ands saved me, for that I swear I’m so grateful. I want to figure this fucking bond out because I feel like-like even if you want to stay with me you’re alone still because all I can do is guess what a whistle or what a chirp is supposed to mean”

 

Speaking of sound, the Big Brother makes the confused dolphin noise again;’ where is all this coming from? Why exactly is being in a sub suddenly having Patrick pour out all these confessions? 

 

“I can feel that buzzing again, are you mad?” Patrick sounded panicked, should he have just shut up?

 

But the Big Brother shook his head and squeezed Patrick gently, he purred and the smaller man could feel the rumbles against him making Patrick actually giggle a little.

 

“Okay, you’re not mad...you just have something you want to tell me?” a nod, Patrick sighed and pressed his face into the Big Brother’s shoulder “we’re gonna figure this out, Dr. Yao can help me go through those files and...and…”

 

Patrick’s crying; the Big Brother knows it seconds before the smaller man starts to tremble and the creature feels his shoulder getting wet; the dolphin sound starts to repeated, getting higher and higher in pitch. 

 

Patrick sucks in air trying to calm himself, his eyes hurt like hell as big tears stream in rivulets down his cheeks “when I was asleep-when I was sleeping on you I had this...I want to say it was a nightmare, a lucid nightmare, but  _ fuck  _ I know there’s no way it was a nightmare. There were two doctors, someone on a table and he-they fucking cut his skin up and opened his throat-”

 

_ -don’t please don’t, stop talking please please, Patrick please- _

 

His breath catches, he’s trembling worse now “was it-was it a memory? Was it yours-I couldn’t see you but I heard, heard screaming and-seeing that fucking Splicer, that was the doctor I saw but he wasn’t spliced like that and that room was covered in fucking human-”

 

Patrick chokes on a sob and starts bawling, his whole body shaking in the Big Brother’s arms and all the creature can do is whistle softly while cradling him; Patrick can feel a new kind of emotion, the buzzing has now turned into a feeling and that feeling is one of “What can I do?” as quick as it appears though it’s gone and Patrick continues crying. Ahead the Big Brother can see they’re about to reach the 4 rings that lead up to the bathysphere bay in the luxury building, carefully he pushed Patrick back-the smaller man letting out a whine of disapproval-and stared at the red tear streaked face before wiping away some of Patrick’s tears and pushing his hair back gently; Patrick was hiccuping now and still trembling, though his blue eyes held a look that the Big Brother couldn’t place...no-it looked like Patrick was trying to ask him for something, but what? 

 

The bathysphere entered the first ring, Patrick let out a shaky sigh and rubbed at his face until he saw colors dancing behind his eyes. He shakily moved off the Big Brother’s lap and stumbled towards the bag, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to even pick it up and looked helplessly back at the creature; the sub finally rose and was out of the water, Patrick expected to see a Splicer or too but was only greeted with the faint flickering lights Elisa had managed to get working again. Patrick pulled on the lever with now suddenly sore muscles and flinched at the hiss the hatch let out as if opened, quickly he hopped over the small gap between the platform and sub and waited for the Big Brother to join him; it seemed absurd to say it but Patrick had preferred the noises over the silence of the laboratory building, now of course he was much more hesitant to use his powers on account of he had nothing to help replenish him if things hit the fan. 

 

Soon though, they’re in the familiar hallway that leads to Elisa’s safehouse and just as Patrick nears the door his shortwave radio goes off.

“Who-Dr. Yao?” her face appeared on the tiny screen, a frown making her appear menacing “what’s wrong?”

 

“ _ He can’t come in with you, Patrick. I won’t have my girls screaming in fear”  _

 

Patrick blinks, then looks over his shoulder at the Big Brother “what...what are you talking about”

 

“ _ You heard me, just get in here and we can discuss what you found”  _

 

“What I-but it  _ involves  _ him too!” Patrick couldn’t believe what he was hearing, hadn’t this woman just been yelling at him for pushing the Big Brother away?

 

“ _ No, it doesn’t. It involves-” _

 

“Dr. Yao I am not leaving him to stand outside this hallway like he’s a monster” 

 

“ _ That’s what he is”  _

 

Patrick’s blood turned cold “This conversation is over”

 

He switched off the radio as he turned on heel though he was sure he could hear here through the wall yelling at him; fuck it, Patrick had said he was going to get shitfaced again and he meant it. The Big Brother followed him, making soft chirps followed by the dolphin sound, where was Patrick leading them? 

 

“She’s fucking  _ wrong”  _ Patrick suddenly growls out as they round a corner to the familiar sight of the bar “You’re not a fucking monster and you’re not going to scare them! Clara remembers you fondly, she kept talking about how and obviously the other girls would know you’re not bad!”

 

The Big Brother stood outside the area for a few seconds before placing the bag on the floor and walking towards the ranting man, Patrick had already opened a bottle of vodka when he was suddenly snatched up and tossed over the Big Brother’s shoulder. 

 

“ _ Put me down right the fuck now!”  _ Patrick started beating his fists “I already said I was going to get drunk once we fucking got back here! Put me down, put me down!”

 

The Big Brother ignored Patrick, picking the bag back up and heading back down the hallway to the safehouse door; Patrick hadn’t let up his cursing or ranting, if anything it got worse as they neared the room but stopped when Patrick was set back on his feet in front of the door. He glared up at the Big Brother with acid, the creature only shrugged and pointed at Patrick’s satchel; the man grumbled but pulled the shortwave radio back out and hit the on button, statix exploded from it followed by

 

“ _ -TURN THIS FUCKING THING BACK ON SO HELP ME-oh…”  _ Elisa coughed and spoke again “ _ are you done throwing your tantrum-” _

 

“I am  _ not  _ leaving him out here and is final  _ Elisa”  _ Patrick snarled. 

 

The radio was silent for a few moments before he heard her sigh “ _ Fine,  you win. We just need to talk, Patrick, it’s important” _

 

“It better be” he grumbled as he stood before the door, it opened a few seconds later but it wasn’t Elisa on the other side “Oh, Clara”

 

“He found you!” the little girl said in a shrill excited voice, behind Patrick he heard a sound of surprise “Big Brother found you! I told you he would, come on! Miss Yao wants to talk to you” 

 

Elisa was standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed once they entered, she looked ready to murder while all the little girl suddenly surrounded the Big Brother’s feet asking a million questions; Patrick smiled at the sight but it faded when he and Elisa locked eyes, what the hell had her so..afraid looking? Patrick reached over and tugged on the bag, the Big Brother gave him a doubtful look but allowed the man to pull it away; besides, currently the Big Brother was being swarmed by excited little girls asking why was the creature so tall, could he really talk to Clara in her head, and etc.

 

“I see you found quite a bit of evidence” Elisa said as they made their way away from the little ones.

 

“No actually, I got attacked by a spliced up doctor who worked at that building and the Big Brother saved me” Patrick responded coldly “he’s done more for me than I could for him”

 

Elisa huffed and sat at a desk “may I see what’s in the bag? I assume you’ve already looked at a few things”

 

“I did. A binder, read two doctor reports from it, and someone’s personal journal” he watched Elisa quirk a brow “I don’t understand either but I get the feeling the labs was his final resting place”

 

“I see...you said you were attacked by a doctor? Who might that be” Elisa was pulling out and stacking files and binders, the ones that were similar to Dr. Armstrong’s were put in their own stack “my this is quite the amount of evidence”

 

Patrick nodded, he hadn’t realized how much the Big Brother had actually gathered which made him wonder… “he said-I mean...I asked him and he nodded to me that that building was where he was made” 

 

Elisa was quiet before nodding slowly “I figured as much...Patrick please believe me when I tell you I knew only rumors about the Big Brother project. I can’t tell you what is and what isn’t for certain, just that I never believed Urie would try and create another creature”

 

“Despite calling you calling him a monster while we were in the hallway, I believe you. Dr. Armstrong said that Urie had a friend, it was that Ryan guy you and Sarah warned me about I assume” Patrick’s ears picked up the sound of excited squeals “sounds like they’re having fun”

 

“Mhm” Elisa was now studying the pages of a green binder “I have much to look through tonight Patrick, would you mind taking you and your friend elsewhere?”

 

Patrick blinked “n-night? It’s night time?”

 

“Just about. It does take some time to get from here to the labs you know” Elisa looked up and studied Patrick for a few moments “it’s around eight from the clock I saw earlier. Jessie accidentally broke it when she tossed a ball to Amy”

 

“And when was that?”

  
“Maybe an hour ago” 

 

Patrick huffed out a sigh and grumbled “thanks” he grabbed the file holding Armstrong’s journal before making his way back towards the entrance area.

 

The girl had all dog piled on top of the Big Brother, they kept giggling and chattering amongst themselves; the sight was precious but Patrick wasn’t going to push his luck again that Elisa would let them stay. So with a goodbye to the girls and watching Clara apparently demand the Big Brother take care of Patrick, the two exited back down the hall. Of course Patrick was out first and immediately he was making his way back towards the bar in practically a sprint, he wasn’t about to let the Big Brother stop him this time; of course thanks to the Big Brother’s awkward size by the time he managed to slip through the door he was fully aware that Patrick was drinking due to the eerie warmth spreading through their thin bond, with an annoyed growl he made his way there where he found Patrick polishing off his first bottle.

 

“Serves you right” Patrick pouted, hiccuping as he started practically chugging a second bottle down “you-hic! You wouldn’t let me get drunk before and now I’m gonna-hic!”

 

The Big Brother made a low groan, was Patrick  _ actually  _ about to act like a child again? 

 

“Don’t you-you gimme that!” Patrick was halfway done with the second bottle before the Big Brother was there and gingerly picking him up “no-o-o-o I don’t want you to touch me!”

 

There was a huff and then the two were heading back down the familiar path to the storage closet, Patrick was wriggling around in his arms and the Big Brother attempted to calm him down by purring.

 

“You-you’re like...like a burlap cat...hey wait no, I’m still mad at you” Patrick pouted instead of glared “Elisa didn’t have to talk-talk that way about you”

 

A chirp was the response.

 

“Kirp!” Patrick giggled, “Kirp, kirp, kirp!” 

 

Christ, this man was adorable.

 

Again they entered the storage closet and the Big Brother made sure the door was safely shit this, while Patrick had been sleeping the Big Brother had unfortunately left it a tad open and Splicers could’ve come in while the man was resting; not that the Big Brother wouldn’t have defended Patrick but still. The man had started wriggling around again, making soft “wooo” sounds as he tried leaning away from the Big Brother only for the creature to pull him back up to avoid Patrick falling to the ground and spilling his brains everywhere. 

 

“Hey, hey, I just remembered I-hic! Have Dr. Armstrong’s journal” Patrick hummed as he was set down, he didn't’ notice the Big Brother tense hearing that or that his light briefly flickered orange “m’gonna read it!”

 

The Big Brother made a low disapproving sound but stopped when Patrick was suddenly sitting up on his knees patting the creature’s helmet, he  shushed him while occasionally hiccuping before sitting back on the ground properly.

 

Patrick opened to a random page, he kept giggling as the words swam a tad before finally focusing on the first sentence; 

 

I have never seen a man more angry before than today, good lord was it the best show I’ve seen. Axel finally told his boss to shove it up his ass, I’m so proud of him. I went with him to make sure nothing bad happened, if his boss started to fight I would’ve happily broken the son of a bitch’s neck, but that was avoided. Instead all he did was turn redder than ADAM and told Axel that he’d be regretting this decision, Axel with the biggest smile i’ve seen on his face since I told him I loved him gave him the bird and we walked out. 

 

Of course me being the idiot I am I completely forgot I told Lewis I’d help him out of his problem with Weekes, the poor kid showed up on my doorstep  _ covered  _ in bruises! What the fuck does Weekes have him doing, self mutilation? He wouldn’t even tell me, just shrugged and asked if Axel was in. I guess we’ve become a second pair or parents for the kid, or really the only family he has now after the accident. Well, I SAY accident and I don’t want to say it in front of him but I know better, me AND  __ Axel know better; sure the ADAM addicts have begun to get worse but no way in hell would a neighborhood like that just so happen to CONVENIENTLY have less security than usual and no way would a passcoded lock  _ happen  _ to short circuit when the fucking city had  _ just  _ had electricians check everyone’s apartments out. 

 

I love that about Axel though, as soon as Lewis was on our doorstep Axel came out of the kitchen and just held the kid. Axel’s maternal instinct amazes me, he’d be a perfect mother if well obviously if he was a girl. He comforted the kid while I went to grab some of that italian food the kid apparently likes, it’s pretty good from what I ate. I’m glad Axel convinced the kid to stay the night, I’m afraid to think of what would’ve happened if he went back to that house he’s in. Just because I work with Dr. Way doesn’t mean I have to like him, him or his older brother and sure everyone can say “oh how kind of them! To take in a kid that’s been through so much!” but I fucking know better. 

 

Speaking of Dr. Way, today was hell at the labs. Urie’s pet project has found a few possible candidates, I’m not much of a believer in religion but I want to cry with relief that Lewis isn’t on the list. That kid has done so much for me and Axel I wonder if he even realizes he’s fixed out relationship, he’s pretty much become our son if I can be honest. Urie’s project has a few people fighting in the labs, today I thought Iero was about to strangle Dirnt for being against the it. “We all need this money!” Iero kept screaming, Dirnt kept making good excuses but everyone in that fucking lab is as money hungry as they next asshole. 

 

I can hear Axel playing the piano right now, I guess Lewis woke up the poor kid. Guess I should make dinner since he’s taking care of him, it’s only fair to do since the shit I’ve put Axel through this week has been unfair.

 

“His partner was Axel, Dr. Armstrong was gay?” Patrick blinked in surprise, was...that even allowed in Rapture? 

 

The man jumped as the Big Brother growled, he looked over his shoulder and noticed the creature looking away from him at the far wall.

 

Patrick frowned and put his finger to his lips “shh, I can’t hear myself read”

Again Patrick flipped to another random page, the page he landed on however nearly sobered him up; he recognized what it looked like when tears tained a page and Patrick could see faint hints of red, what the hell was he about to read?

 

If there is a God, please know I’m sorry.

 

If he’s up there with you, please let him know I love him still and never will stop.Please let him know I love him so fucking much and I’m going to fucking kill Urie if it’s the last thing do

 

No, wait, don’t tell him that 

 

I don’t want him to think I’m going to live my whole life now seeking revenge

 

I know that’s not what he’d want but please, God, tell Axel I love him.

 

I don’t know what happened to Lewis, the kid ran off from what I heard. I kept calling every dock, every fucking fishery but no one’s seen tail nor hide of the kid. I keep praying he’s okay, that he’s not done what I think he’s done and maybe he’s just gone and gotten himself shitfaced but even after having Mike and Tre look through every fucking pub and bar in this city they haven’t found him. 

 

I even asked Hurley if anyone’s seen the kid, gave him a description but he just said no. He said he’d keep an eye out though, get Joe on it too, bless that son of a bitch. 

 

Axel, Axel, Axel I am so sorry, that’s all I can think right now. Fuck, I’m crying all over the fucking notebook right now but maybe that’s what I deserve, to cry until my fucking eyes dry up and pop out of my skull. How could I have known? How could I have known it was you calling for me from Urie’s office, how the hell could I have known? God dammit, dammit it all and damn me to hell! I’m going to make Urie pay, I’m going to ruin his fucking pet project and Tre and Mike are going to help me. 

 

Ross the fucking bastard, he offered to pay for the funeral expenses and the whole damn time I could see the fucking look in his eyes, that fucking look trying to tell me “try and fight us again and there will be more consequences”

 

Jokes on them though, right Axel? I’ve never been one to back down from a fight. I’m going to make them pay, I know you wouldn’t want me to risk my life but I can’t forgive them for what they did to you, Axel. You weren’t on the list, if you were on the fucking list Tre or Mike would’ve told me! Urie’s fucking voice over the phone telling me there was an accident, there was a fucking accident AT THE FUCKING LAB and you shouldn't have even been there! “I’m so sorry Mr. Armstrong I don’t know why he was there. I don’t know why, he had nothing to do with my project” I almost broke the phone, almost smashed it to pieces but I just listened to that son of a bitch’s false apologies and when he was done I smashed every bottle of whiskey in this fucking apartment. I cut myself up, Axel, I know you wouldn't have wanted that but fuck Axel I can’t.

 

Do you know what you looked like? When I went to the freezers and found your body-no that wasn’t you. You weren’t in that body, you were long gone before I even got there, before I even got that fucking phone call. That body’s arms were too long and too skeletal, those hands had bones sticking out of the skin and those legs were snapped like twigs from the trees in Arcadia. Oh god, Axel your-that body’s FACE was so twisted up, so fucked up I know you died in pain. Were you thinking about me? Were you hating me for not being there to stop it, or were you trying to think about good things? When we first met, when we both met Lewis, when we loved each other for so many nights? 

 

I’m getting dizzy and my hands are shaking, it’s getting harder to write and I know my blood will stain this page. I need to go out, I need to find Lewis and protect him. I know Axel’s boss had something to do with him getting stuck at the labs, I know that motherfucker murdered my love and I’m going to make him pay.

 

Then I’m going after the two shits in charge of Rapture

 

I love Axel, if you can hear or see me right now. I love you 

 

Patrick was now sober, his stomach twisting as he started to tremble; what the hell had Urie done? What the hell had this Ryan guy done-who the  _ fuck  _ was he? Obviously Urie’s partner in crime at one point but now...if he was still down in Rapture-and  _ where  _ Rapture was he? Had he been watching Patrick ever since he’d arrived, had he been the one that set off the alarms and had those Splicers chasing after him until he’d found Elisa? All these thoughts swirled around in his head, the buzzing in the base of his skull was suddenly stronger and the pressure caused him to hunch over his lap whimpering; the buzzing seemed to grow worse and crept to his ears, he forced his eyes shut as tears began to gather-

 

_ -OP FUCKING READING THE FUCKING FILES GOD DAMMIT HE CAN’T EVEN HEAR ME AND HE’S READING THEM HE NEEDS TO FUCKING STOP BUT WHAT’S THE POINT IF I TRY AND TAKE THEM FROM HIM HE’LL JUST SCREAM AT ME AGAIN GOD DAMMIT PATRICK- _

 

“Shut up!” Patrick screamed, jumping to his feet and whirling around to face a startled Big Brother “stop-I can hear you fucking-shut up!” Patrick winced, fuck, he just did what the Big Brother said he would “please stop, you’re hurting my head and the buzzing hurts so badly please just let me read this fucking file”

 

The Big Brother stares for a few moments before sitting back against the wall again, Patrick can see how tense he is but otherwise the Big Brother makes no other movement.

 

“Thank you” Patrick croaks out and sits back down, the buzzing has gone down again but the pain behind his eyes is still there “I need to read just-I’m going to read one more entry and then…”  _ then what? Go to sleep if he’ll even let you near him. _

 

Again Patrick flipped to another random page, this time much closer to the end of the whole file-a picture of someone was what Patrick was met with, along with a passage beneath it. The photo was of a man, he didn’t look much older than Patrick did to be truthful; the picture was a faded yellow-brown with age and at the top was the name Lewis in quick sharp chicken scratch.

 

The passage below read:  I couldn’t keep my promise, I fought all the devils in hell to keep you safe and keep you alive, but not even the lord himself seemed able to aid me. This is all I have left of you, my friend, I pray to God that wherever you are you aren’t sufferin and maybe you’re watching over me with Axel. 

 

Patrick’s throat closed up, his eyes wandering back to the man in the photo; he had dark eyes and a sweet smile, his hair was sort of fluffed up and made Patrick smile; it looked like he’d just arrived from somewhere due to him wearing a plain black suit that was slightly rumpled. Patrick felt his cheek burn as his eyes traveled back to the man’s smile, his lips looked awfully soft-wait-no-He slapped the file folder shut and covered his face; great so he just started blushing over a dead guy. Patrick sighed and stuffed the file back into his satchel before turning around and crawling over to the Big Brother, the creature hadn’t moved since Patrick had yelleda at him (god he felt guilty) and the man curled on his side, laying his head in the creature’s lap. 

 

He started to doze when he jumped a bit, the Big Brother had started to card his fingers through Patrick’s hair and paused; Patrick sighed and rubbed his cheek against the Big Brother’s thigh contently before finally succumbing to sleep.

 

Patrick’s sleep was filled with dreams of cold steel and dark hallways, of blood soaked rooms and eyes dangling from the ceiling, of twisted bodies and widowed lovers crying; all in all, it was a horrible sleep. A few times he thought he woke up, his eyes felt too heavy but he swore he would see the cold grey wall of the inside of the storage closet before again succumbing to his hellish sleep. When Patrick finally did wake up fully, he found he was being cradled in the Big Brother’s arms again...and the creature’s light wasn’t on at all; Patrick frowned at that, the grogginess in his head making him cranky as he snapped a sharp “Hey”. There was a groan then the soft yellow light appeared, the Big Brother turned his head and looked at Patrick; the smaller man felt relieved, most of the time if those lights went out if meant Big Daddies and Sisters were dead, he didn’t want that to happen to the Big Brother. 

 

“Were you asleep?” the Big Brother nodded “I didn’t know you could sleep” 

 

The Big Brother shrugs and chirps, Patrick smiles a little but that’s quickly wiped away; the creature leans towards Patrick a bit and pushes his hair out of his face, making a soft whistling sound that Patrick has no idea what it means. 

 

“I had nightmares” Patrick mumbles, he leans into the Big Brother’s touch for a few moments before pushing his hand away “I’m sorry, about last night and getting drunk again. I sobered up pretty fast though, reading what Urie and his friend apparently have done” Patrick grimaces and sighed, looking back at the Big Brother “I really want to get the hell out of Rapture” 

 

There was a flinch followed by a low groaning sound, the Big Brother’s light faded a tad.

 

Patrick realized what he said and turned red “You’re not why, I just...this place scares the hell out of me” 

 

A nod, followed by Patrick being squeezed into a hug.

 

His body ached as he crawled out of the Big Brother’s lap, everything felt stiff and awkward but he couldn’t really complain since it was the closest thing to a bed instead of sleeping on the floor. Patrick realized he had no idea what to do now as they exited the storage closet; Elisa had told him to stay put and that she would look through the files, and Patrick knew there was more rooms to look through but most of them had been blocked off or were currently submerged. Patrick mulled over maybe checking out more rooms, maybe trying to contact Sarah (though he had a feeling if this Ryan guy was watching she’d rather be the first to contact Patrick), or hell even going back to the labs building. The buzzing returned and Patrick looked up beside him at the Big Brother curiously; maybe he could stop at Elisa’s safehouse just to see if she’d found anything at all about their bond possibly.

 

Of course that would imply she managed to stay up all night and go through countless files, even if she was a hard worker Patrick doubted that she already found something involving the possible bond the Big Brother could create. Patrick figured the buzzing was because he was feeling anxiety and now he wondered if the Big Brother could feel what Patrick was feeling...honestly at this point that wouldn’t surprise him. He debated for a few moments as they made their way aimlessly around-of was Patrick following the Big Brother? He seemed to have some path mapped out and Patrick was just along for the ride-and finally Patrick reached over and took the Big Brother’s hand; he heard a purr and rolled his eyes, smiling to himself. There was the occasional Splicer group that appeared, the Big Brother taking care of all of them until Patrick found they had completely circled around back to the hallway with the safehouse.

 

He huffed and looked up at the Big Brother “I know we both want answers from Elisa about this whole bond thing but I doubt she’s managed to already find things. Look how about we...I don’t know, go back to that storage closet? It seemed really safe-actually no I’m hungry, keep an eye out for me?”

 

The creature huffed and looked down at Patrick, the smaller man could almost feel the “no shit” look.

 

“Okay Mr. sassy” Patrick giggled and let go of his hand, hurrying back down the hallway until he reached a corridor connecting the building to the more residential building “We’re going to head back to Arcadia, past it is the Farmer’s Market and I’m hungry. Maybe there’s still food there”

 

Again it was run, dodge, fight, then have the Big Brother decide Patrick can’t protect himself; eventually the two made their way to Arcadia; The Big Brother at one point during their trek there had moved the oxygen tank from his back to the front to carry Patrick, the smaller man was embarrassed and clung tightly to the taller in fear of falling and possibly spraining his ankle. The park was a welcome sight despite the several dead Splicers still in the area, Patrick softly mumbling “ew” as what looked like a butterfly landed on one; he tensed up as they neared the slope leading towards the doors to the Farmer’s Market, somewhere he could hear the Saturnine’s chatter and a shiver crawled up his spine.

 

“Can we hurry?” he mumbled.

 

The Farmer’s Market was as empty as before though now an eerie feeling (more so than usual somehow) filled the room; Patrick whimpered a little and wished he’d stopped to hit up a Gene Bank before coming here, yeah he wanted food but he could’ve just as easily knocked on Elisa’s door and asked for fucking potato chips! He tapped the side of the helmet lightly, the Big Brother crouched down and Patrick slid off his back with a soft “oof!”. Inside the Farmer’s Market was just as eerie as before, only this time Sarah wasn’t there...in fact from the looks of it-Patrick ran to the window and peered inside; it looked as if Splicer’s had gone through, where was Sarah though? As quickly as Patrick began to panic it went down seeing a note written in grime on the window reading WENT TO OTHER OFFICE. 

 

“Thank God” Patrick mumbled, turning around and looking at the Big Brother “I know you probably don’t care but I’m glad she’s not dead” 

 

The Big Brother only shrugged while fixing his oxygen tank to his back again then pointed at right wall, Patrick was surprised to see where typically vegetables would be stacked there were several bags of chips...it had to have been a trap. Patrick looked at his feet and picked up an empty can and tossed it towards the cans, he screamed as bullets ripped through the air from a doorway near the shelves. The Big Brother’s blade came out and he held it in front of Patrick as a shield, the man shrank beside the creature and both stared for a few moments before the Big Brother stood and Patrick sighed heavily seeing the chip bags were now torn to bits. Fuck it, Patrick thought grouchily as his stomach growled, they were going to go bother Elisa; she didn't’ seem that surprised when Patrick knocked on the door.

 

“I wondered where you were going” she mused as she stepped aside though she cast the Big Brother a wary glare “come on then, it’s still breakfast time and the girls were wondering if I would invite you in”

 

“They’re much more considerate than you then” Patrick responded monotonously as he followed her.

 

That was a low blow and Elisa tried not flinching “were you going to check on Sarah? I’m a little surprised, she’s still rather hostile to you”

 

“Well that makes sense since Ryan apparently tried killing her. I’ve been learning some pretty interesting things too” Patrick patted his satchel but Elisa didn’t notice “mind if I ask if you’ve found anything yet? You’re only human so I don’t expect results right away”

 

Elisa hummed knowingly “you’ll see”

 

That had Patrick tense for a tic, what exactly did that mean? The girl’s were all seated at the tables when the two appeared, immediately hopping up from the seats and running to hug Patrick’s legs and nearly knocking him over. Elisa sighed and waited as they all finished trying to push the man down before all returning to their seats. 

 

“Girls, I need to talk to Patrick. Be kind to his friend alright?” with that, she turned on heel while beckoning Patrick after her.

 

Patrick sighed and looked from the girls to the Big Brother “you okay with them treating you like a jungle gym?”

 

The Big Brother nodded and was promptly swarmed with little girls trying to climb him.

 

Patrick laughed as he made his way to the office area where Elisa was, his attitude becoming serious when she handed him a few pieces of paper; he furrowed his brow in confusion, looking from the papers to her.

 

“You found some stuff?”

 

“I found things pertaining to the project during its process, a few journal entries from doctors who were kinder to the subject than most, and a few documentations of accidents. So far there is nothing about the bond process or even how the Big Brother could have telepathic powers but I am looking Patrick” Elisa reached over and squeezed his free hand “please believe me when I say I am sorry for hurting you the other day. I understand that you’ve been alone and only rarely being able to see me has taken a toll on you”

 

Patrick jerked his hand away “I’m sorry but are you implying that I shouldn’t like the Big Brother anymore?”

 

“No! God no, Patrick, I went on a whole lecture at you about betraying his trust” Elisa sighed and shook her head “What I’m saying is that, after you read what you read...please understand that the Big Brother has no control over the bond”

 

“Wait! You just said-”

 

“Patrick I can’t find  _ specifics  _ about how the bond works but one of the reports in that folder mentions something and that’s why I’m very on edge right now” Elisa again reached for Patrick’s hand but he backed away, she flinched and sighed softly “alright, I understand”

 

“Thank you, I’m...there’s this storage closet we’ve been sleeping in, I’m going to head back there-”

 

“Please stay” Elisa didn’t miss the way Patrick glared “You have a bed here, you have food here and-and your friend, the girls like him”

 

“He’s my bed” Patrick didn’t know that brought heat to his cheeks but he sighed heavily, she was right about the rood thing “fine but I want to have a separate place right now. I’m still cross with you”

 

“That’s completely understandable and fine” Elisa gestured towards a door “it’s a small office, I promise I’ll leave you be”

 

“Thank you…” Patrick headed back to the play room where he once again found the Big Brother being squished by the little girls “hey, I’ll be in the safehouse still but I’m going to be in a closet...would you mind um...going somewhere else?”

 

The Big Brother stared at Patrick for a few moments before making the confused dolphin sound.

 

“I’ll-look I’ll explain to you when I’m done...come back-I’ll call for you to come back okay?” was that a thing their bond could do? Patrick didn’t know.

 

The girls all crawled off the Big Brother, watching sadly as he went down the hall; before any of the children could get mad at Patrick he was heading for the office and locking himself in. With a heavy sigh Patrick scanned the office; there was a small desk and a chair with a lamp sitting on a little stood, the man sat at the desk and set the papers down to start reading.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This first part of the chapter is Patrick reading through documents, you don't have to read them if you don't want to.

##  Ch. 4

 

DAY 34 of Project Big Brother

 

Dr. Baker

 

As with further research the serum we are creating for Mr. Urie’s pet project has yet to come to fruition. It sounds benign but we need the serum to be a particular ‘color’ or else it may as well be piss we’re injecting into bodies. The slugs are abundant somehow and as much as those disgusting creatures are an important asset I’m very certain we’ve several patients that have succumbed to a coma due to ingesting several at once. What aggravates me is that Urie simply requested we make another type of “one of those metal freaks”, as he so eloquently put it. We already have the Big Daddies as perfected as they will be, and the Big Sisters that brainless idiot Dr. Frangipane created are starting to enter the more residential areas of Rapture and causing worse scenes than the rumors about terrorists. 

 

Ah, but the one thing that I can certainly say I’m grateful for is that I’m not the one in charge of perfecting the new batch of Little Sisters. I’d love to know how You managed to fuck that one up, already had a formula that “was perfect to a T” and yet now the new little orphans showing up aren’t taking too kindly to the slugs now. Urie apparently made quite the scene but hey, a few dollars silences anyone doesn’t it? Something I did take from that Little Sister doctor was that I need to extract more ADAM from those slugs and see what might happen, perhaps I can add a few drops to our existing serum. 

 

The main problem I suppose besides not having a perfected serum is that we need suitable candidates. Ross and Urie compiled a list but me and several of my colleagues think the list is more “Whoever is left over me and Ross are going to fuck”, damn rich bastards. I truly wonder how Ross even came into the picture since  _ everyone  _ knows about the “accident” with Brendon’s father. Please, we all know Ross finally convinced Urie to off the old man, not that I blame him of course but the Urie’s father should’ve known better than to give his keys to those grubby little fingers so young. What did he end up with? Gratitude? A “thank you papa?” nope, a one way trip to a place in “Davy Jones’ locker” they call it. 

 

UPDATE, 3 HOURS FROM PREVIOUS REPORT: Splendid news just broke through! Scientists in the medical labs made terrible mistake but a miracle for us! That Dr. Martinez, she made some kind of muscle relaxant that ended up enhancing physical strength (although said gentleman reminds me of a gorilla trying to assert dominance) and causing muscle growth. Another thing it seems to have done is cause the neuro system to become like that of a mindless puppet, someone at the medical labs paid dearly when he “joking asked the gorilla patient to break a wall”. This is indeed helpful for us since we don’t need a conscious Big Brother, we need him mindless like the Big Daddies with only the goal of serving Urie. 

 

Regarding the list of specifications, I’ve noted the main 3

 

  1. Needs to be within the 4’10-5’10
  2. Needs to be somewhere in early 20s-late 30’s
  3. Needs to have at least _some_ kind of physical strength



 

Naturally it must be a male of course, however there’s very few of these in Rapture that don’t uphold themselves to their artistic side. I call it finding the nearest mushroom in Arcadia and huffing it ‘till they see mermaids swimming  outside their rooms and deciding to take a dip into the water to get lucky.

 

We’ve had newcomers enter Rapture this week, Urie gave us a list of them and I’ve assigned Hoppus and Skibba to go through them and see who is suitable. Usually I’d give it to Dr. Cool or Dr. Armstrong or Dr. Dirnt but they’ve been...softening up lately I think, they’re not as driven to get this job done and get money as before. 

 

We can’t have a conscious while operating on people, it hinders you and makes getting your check impossible.

 

(Patrick frowned as he read the report again, this guy sounded like the other doctors in the reports he read; money hungry and calling a conscious a bad thing).

 

Day 3 of awakening

 

Dr. Hoppus

 

It’s been 3 days now since Subject Alpha has finally awoken from being comatose. I expected panic or a fight to break out since we took the liberty of adorning him with his diving suit and such but instead when Dr. Skibba ordered him to stand from the table he did so with little resistance or issue. What surprise me is that the man barely has any muscle, yet he seems stronger than anything possible. We called Urie today and he ordered us to send him down to the black pearl mines, already Urie’s making so many demands when beforehand he was “so concerned” about the subject’s well-being. I had Skibba take the Big Brother to the dock where the bathysphere was and we were all surprised when subject alpha took the to water like a fish. A sub was sent after him to monitor his actions, reportedly there were no issues until the subject suddenly swam towards the surface. It appears that the pressure was something we hadn’t accounted for and to my surprise when he was pulled back into the docking room and had his helmet removed he looked at me with still very human eyes and spat at me.

 

Subject Alpha still has a conscious it seems, though why he doesn’t fight back is a mystery...if you’re an idiot. It’s obvious he realizes there is no point in fighting when Urie could have all of Rapture hunting him down for a pretty penny and a wonderful amount of ADAM. Regardless he glares and makes disgruntled noises but of course he cannot speak thanks to Dr. Way’s attack. Whenever Urie comes to visit the man practically brags about the power he has over Subject Alpha and silently I wish he’d snap Urie’s neck but as of late I’d rather Urie run Rapture than his friend. 

 

Speaking of Ross, I heard quite the interesting rumor today. Supposedly Ross burst into Urie’s office and went on a rant about Urie being “unfaithful to Rapture” and “going to ruin all they had worked for”. Seems to me Urie was thinking about abandoning Rapture to head uptop. He could of course, with all that money his family has he could head up and start a new life with oh and here’s the drama part, that Orzechowski lady. I wish I could’ve seen it but I was here instead making sure that fucking thing didn’t kill himself while mining for black pearls. Regardless the long suspected tension between Ross and Urie are apparently no longer on the way side, let’s just watch the world go up in flames shall we? 

 

(Again Patrick had to re-read the document, specifically the part about Sarah. Is- _ was,  _ Sarah Brendon’s fiance? Sure that would explain the hostility but why was she down here then? God, Patrick was starting to feel fear but the fact that the Big Brother was being brought up had him praying something useful would happen soon)

 

DAY 53 of Project Big Brother

 

Dr. Hoppus

 

Urie has announced he wants to end Project Big Brother

 

Ross has demanded we keep it going, but now we need to start manufacturing a kind of aggressive serum to make the Big Brother a mindless soldier. 

 

At this point I’m fucking done with both of their bullshit, I want my fucking check signed so I can quit this job and run topside. Everyone in Rapture knows about the sudden split between Ross and Urie, they aren’t exactly trying to be subtle about this fight of theirs. At the moment we’re continuing with Subject Alpha mining black pearls and whatever else the fucker can find for us to make some money, the workers at the docks don’t seem to mind making an extra penny.

 

Something concerning is though that Ross has apparently declared a war on Rapture if Urie doesn’t stop his little games. From what I’ve seen and even I admit I’m not much of a man for such trivial things but Urie seems to have completely understood that he understands that he is in love. Either way I’m waiting any day now for the whole city to drown due to Ross drowning everyone in it.

 

UPDATE: Urie surprised us today by dropping by during luncheon, apparently he no longer desires us to terminate Subject Alpha. With an all too practiced smile he declared “it’s a success” and then left. Didn’t he want more than one? Surely he did...oh to hell with it I’m getting my damn money soon.

 

(That thought had Patrick’s blood turning cold, Ryan was still alive down here-fuck, as soon as he could he was sending Elisa and the girls topside).

 

Report to: Dr. Skibba

 

Dr. Skibba

 

Subject Alpha has finally woken up and seemed quite docile. It’s disturbing to me and my brother but what’s more concerning if you don’t mind me asking and I know I should ask your permission but  my brother my brother has decided that he is seeing  Frank  Dr. Iero’s ghost around the halls. If you will allow me sir I would like to have him take leave for the moment, I know we’re both important to Project Big Brother but I would rather  my brother  Dr. Way be able to rest for the moment until he is stable. As you understand he was close in friendship to Dr. Iero and his death was unfortunate. 

 

Dr. M Way.

 

(Wait, what? Patrick blinked, there were  _ two  _ doctors with the same name? So which had Patrick seen, the one who was apparently going insane or M way? He shook his head and sighed, didn’t Elisa say he’d find something at some point about the bond a little)

 

Report to: Dr. Iero [CONFIDENTIAL]

Frank, we need to talk. This is getting serious man, I know we all signed up for this crazy project because Brendon promised us all big money but I know you’ve seen the way it’s affecting Gerard. At this point I’m completely ready to just say fuck it to this project and steal a bathysphere to the surface again. Mikey’s been talking to me about it too, Gerard keeps saying he sees ghosts and it’s starting to make him shaky and function all wrong. Frank he’s your friend, you need to talk to him, make him realize he needs some time off. 

I don’t want this stupid project killing him, Frank. Fucking hell we’ve already forced some guy not even that much older than us into a fucking diving suit! 

 

Shit speaking of, how is your wrist? I heard it was infected but you’re healing pretty well. Gerard’s jabbering about that too, he keeps saying he’s going to kill Subject Alpha if you die from an infection. I know I’m asking you a lot since you’re healing and sometimes Gerard doesn’t listen to you but please, Frank, he’s not even listening to his own brother. 

 

I got called by Dr. Skibba earlier today and fuck, man, he was all kinds of angry. I thought he’d opened the gate to hell and absorbed all the hatred down there when he had me in his office. Apparently they finally found Dirnt or at least what was left of him, those Big Sister things are terrifying. Skibba kept going on and on about how Dirnt’s body held secrets to our project, I think the guy’s finally started taking ADAM to chill his nerves out. The only left now is Cool and I’m actually hoping he really did run away topside, Frankie. I don’t know why, I don’t know what about this project has suddenly made me hate all this experimenting but maybe it’s just the fact that that guy wasn’t bad at all.

 

Fuck Frank, if we were all topside and met that guy maybe we could’ve all been friends somehow, even if he was a bit mouthy. 

 

Look, reply to this when you can please? I’m worried about Gerard Frank

 

Dr. Toro

 

Aw fuck it, you know it’s me

 

Ray Toro

 

( _ So some of them did begin to realize how fucked this was  _ Patrick tried keeping a bitter feeling but his heart reached out towards Dr. Toro, he sounded so genuinely worried about his friend that it reminded Patrick of when he’d been worried that Megan was going to get sick if she didn’t take a new job on)

 

URGENT: Dr. Martinez

 

Dr. Martinez

 

I have already told you to STAY OUT OF THE LABS.

 

If I even heard wind of you being here again I will personally strangle you. Do you really have no concept of sympathy? Empathy? Fuck’s sake it’s ME saying all that. My brother just lost his fucking closest friend not even a week ago, he’s slowly going crazy saying he can see his ghost for fuck’s sake and you're prowling around obsessed with Subject Alpha when EVEN SUBJECT ALPHA IS TRYING TO AVOID YOU. 

 

You belong in the medical bay playing plastic surgery with your little potato head dolls! With your fucking ADAM AND ALL THAT SHIT. PLus I know it was you that killed Dr. Halsey, we all know it was you. Stay the fuck away from the labs or there’s going to be some consequences you bitch.

 

My brother doesn’t need you reminding him that his best friend is fucking dead at every interval! I don’t know why he keeps saying he sees Dr. Iero but if you keep trying to lie to him and say you can fix him then I’m going to hire someone from the docks to make an appointment then drive a scalpel through your fucking eyeball straight into your pea-sized brain! 

 

Dr. M Way

 

(Patrick flinched reading this, you could practically feel the anger pouring off the faded yellow page. Dr. Martinez at it again with her obsession with perfection, but to bring someone back? As in from the dead? The man let out a shaky sigh and started wishing he’d asked the Big Brother to come with him instead of making him leave. He ignored the journal entries and picked up the accidents report)

 

Name: FRANK IERO

 

DEATH: 2:34 A.M.

 

CAUSE: INFECTED WOUND BY SUBJECT ALPHA

 

  1. IERO WAS KEPT IN QUARANTINE TO MAKE SURE THE SERUM DID NOT AFFECT HIS BODY THE WAY IT HAD AFFECTED DR. ARMSTRONG'S PARTNER, HOWEVER HE SIMPLY DIED FROM A HIGH FEVER THAT WOULDN’T GO DOWN NO MATTER THE AMOUNT OF COLD HE WAS SUBJECTED TO



 

NAME: RAY TORO

 

DEATH: 4:52 P.M.

 

CAUSE: ELECTROCUTED TO DEATH AFTER FIGHT WITH AN ADAM ADDICT

 

  1. TORO WAS ASSISTING DR. BAKER IN MOVING A REHAB PATIENT TO A NEW ROOM TO BETTER CONTAIN HIS ELECTRO-BOLT PLASMID, HOWEVER THE PATIENT GREW AGITATED BY LACK OF DRUG AND GRABBED TORO’S FACE. DR. TORO WAS KILLED INSTANTLY.



  
  


NAME: BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG 

 

DEATH: UNKNOWN (hastily scribbled after this was 12:00 ish in red pen)

 

CAUSE: RESTRICTED [URIE SENT SOME OF HIS MEN TO HUNT ARMSTRONG DOWN]

 

  1. ARMSTRONG FAILED TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF PROJECT BIG BROTHER AND ATTEMPTED TO KILL URIE BY PLANTING A BOMB IN HIS OFFICE. HIS ACCOMPLICES (DR. DIRNT AND DR. COOL) ARE STILL IN HIDING. DR. ARMSTRONG WAS DISCOVERED HIDING AMONGST THE FISHERY AND WAS IMMEDIATELY TAKEN TO URIE’S OFFICE WHERE THE BODY WAS RETURNED TO THE LABS WITH SEVERAL DEEP BRUISES AND DEEP LACERATIONS. 



 

NAME: MIKEY WAY

 

DEATH:UNKNOWN-POSSIBLY 1-2 P.M.

 

CAUSE: USING SELF AS A WAY OF DISTRACTION FOR DR. WAY TO ESCAPE A BIG SISTER AMBUSH (AN ATTACK MOST LIKELY PLANNED BY ROSS)

 

  1. WAY WAS FOUND BEATEN AND NEARLY TORN TO PIECES AS HE AND HIS BROTHER WERE MAKING THEIR WAY TO THE BATHYSPHERE THAT WOULD ARRIVE AT THE LABS. 3 BIG SISTERS CAME FROM NOWHERE ACCORDING TO WITNESSES AND DR. M WAY SHIELDED HIS BROTHER AS THE CREATURES BEGAN TO MAUL HIM. 



  
  


NAME: MATTHEW SKIBBA

 

DEATH: 6:27 A.M.

 

CAUSE: SUBJECT ALPHA GREW INTO A RAGE WHEN DR. SKIBBA SUPPOSEDLY SLAPPED THE LITTLE SISTER THE SUBJECT WAS TO BOND WITH

 

  1. SKIBBA WAS FOUND SLICED PERFECTLY IN HALF, ORGANS LAY IN HIS LAP AS HE CHOKED QUICKLY ON BLOOD THOUGH AUTOPSY SUGGESTS HIS LUNGS FILLED WITH LIQUID BEFORE THE BLOOD DID.



 

NAME: MIKE DIRNT

 

DEATH: UNKNOWN-POSSIBLE FROM 3-7 P.M.

 

CAUSE: BIG DADDY DRILL

 

  1. DIRNT WAS DISCOVERED IN A SPLICER DEN BY URIE’S THUGS AFTER THE DEN REFUSED TO PAY UP WHAT THEY OWED. IT APPEARED AS IF DIRNT HAD HAD THE DRILL PIERCE RIGHT THROUGH HIS STERNUM AND INSTANTLY TEAR HIS HEART OUT. 



 

NAME: TRE COOL

 

DEATH: UNKNOWN, CANNOT MAKE GUESSTIMATION

 

CAUSE: APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN A BIG SISTER

 

  1. COOL WAS FOUND IN BITS AND PIECES, NO SKELETON TO SAY FOR SURE BUT DNA SHOWED IT WAS HIM. IT APPEARED AS IF SEVERAL BIG SISTERS FOUND HIM ALL AT ONCE AND SWARMED HIM IN A MAD FRENZY



 

(Patrick swallowed weekly as he read these, what in the fucking hell was this project? Would the Big Brother-no, he wouldn’t hurt Patrick that way. He would protect Patrick no matter what. He set the report aside and skimmed through journal entries only to find none of them mentioned anything about the bond, only some pitying Subject Alpha and some saying they wish he had died on the operating table)

* * *

Elisa was still sorting out papers when Patrick came out of the office, she noted his green face and immediately she was beside him; he leaned against her and shoved the papers into her hand.

“I didn’t-I couldn’t find what I was looking for but jesus Elisa that lab building…”

“I know, I know” she cooed softly, pulling Patrick in to a tight hug before leading him over to the table to sit “I’ve been organizing more and I’m starting to find bits about the bond possibly, if you'd’ like-”

“I need to find him” Patrick interrupted, starting to stand but stumbling a bit “fuck-I need to find him now” 

“What, why?” Elisa carefully set the already read papers onto another side away from her stacks “Patrick you already sent him away he’s not a dog-”

“I need him Elisa”  _ I need to just be held, I need to just hold him because even if he won’t want to remember or even if he can’t remember anything from then I need to hold him  _ “I’ll be back don’t worry”

Of course Patrick should have specified where he wanted the Big Brother to go; Elisa supplied Patrick with a few EVE shots (4) incase and ammo for his gun, once that all set he headed out and tried thinking about possible places for the Big Brother to be. He could’ve gone back to the storage closet but really Patrick doubted that, maybe he was out in the ocean? He ran through several halls and checked a few rooms incase, killing Splicers who found him and hiding from the sounds of Big Sisters (Elisa radioed him upon hearing the creatures and Patrick confirmed that there were 2); unfortunately for him as soon as he exited a closet he was hiding in the hellish scream ripped through the air and Patrick ran for his life-literally. He stumbled up a grand staircase, out of his peripheral vision he saw a flash of dark metal and off-white burlap skitter along the hand railing.

Patrick stumbled and cried out in pain as he fell, slamming his head into the steps behind him and screeching from pain; spots danced in front of his eyes as the Big Sister screeched. He tried sitting up but immediately regretted it as a wave of nausea ran through him and the spots began again, Patrick scrambled to grab his gun from the satchel as the creature charged at him. He let out a loud string of curses and shot electricity at the thing when the handle snagged on the gun, the Big Sister screamed and fell on the steps spazzing; quickly Patrick forced himself to his feet and raced down the steps, he untangled his gun finally and turned around just in time as the creature had recovered and was charging at him. The Big Sister screamed in pain as  Patrick fired a few shots at her and quickly paralyzed her again, it was a rinse and repeat cycle as the man ran down several hallways with the creature still hot on his trail. A few more shots and Patrick noticed she began to limp, he felt relieved at this; that meant she was getting weaker, that meant he had a chance to kill her-

Unfortunately it seemed to have slipped his mind that there was another one to worry about; Patrick crashed into her and screamed as she slammed her fist into his face, he stumbled back only to have pain shoot through his body as the thin vampire drill pierced his hip from the limping one; he quickly paralyzed both and ignored the pain best he could as he raced back down the hall. His hip felt as if it were on fire, he wondered silently just how many infections he could get if he didn’t treat this thing soon and if he’d die; Elisa couldn’t save him this time, she’d get torn to pieces and an even worse thought was the Big Sisters would find the girls and they’d perish with her. He stumbled as he rounded a corner and froze but only for a second as he began sobbing and ran towards the Big Brother, it hurt like hell when his whole body crashed into the creature but Patrick didn’t care; the creature wrapped an arm quickly around Patrick and let out a terrifying growl as the Big Sisters appeared around the corner.

They screeched at him and charged; Patrick was shoved behind the Big Brother and watched the creature slam his blade into the head of one of the Big Sister while grabbing the other one by her arm and throwing her at the wall with a loud cracking sound, her light flickered out and she went still. The other one recovered from being knocked down and Patrick screamed as she drove her vampire drill into the Big Brother’s arm, he swore he could hear the sound of bones cracking and found himself throwing up. The Big Brother himself screamed in pain and rage, grabbing her arm and snapping it like a twig; she screamed. The Big Brother ripping the weapon of his arm and grabbing her helmet again, he threw her back down and drove his blade through her abdomen and with a final scream of pain she thrashed around before going completely still. 

Patrick let out a shaky breath and stared at the Big Brother, the creature turned around and stared back at him for a few moments before making a high pitched whine; Patrick frowned trying to figure out why when his whole left side suddenly felt numb and he collapsed to his knees, the creature repeated the sound at an almost ear splitting frequency and knelt beside him. Patrick let out pained hisses as he felt blood soaking his clothes, he reached out and gripped the Big Brother’s sleeve tightly while trying to steady his breathing.

“I-I was lo-looking for you...you’re hurt” he felt sick as he watched the sleeve darken with..maybe blood? “We have to find a Circus of Values machine, there’s one up the grand staircase down the right hall from here” Patrick started wheezing as more pain spiked “Let-please let me lean against you, I can’t walk and you can’t carry me” 

The Big Brother made a low growling sound but helped Patrick stand regardless, the smaller man cried out in pain as his legs started to buckle.

“Fuck-come on” he shoved away from the creature and stumbled his way down the hall. 

Once they reached the staircase however, Patrick squeaked as he was picked up and wriggled around trying to protest but the Big Brother didn’t care; they reached the top and Patrick was dropped in front of the machine. He had never been so happy to see shots in his whole life as the several red syringes dropped down through the slot. He picked them and sat down with some struggle, the Big Brother following suit and flinched when Patrick reached for his arm.

“You’re hurt, I need to take care of you” Patrick frowned when the Big Brother actually growled “what the hell”

He repeated the growl and gestured to Patrick’s hip.

Patrick sighed heavily “fine, I’ll take care of myself” 

He stabbed the needle into his right wrist and shuddered at the feeling, it’d been a bit since he’d stabbed himself; he felt the same strange tingle that meant his body was healing, he set down the syringe and grabbed a new one. Patrick scooted closer and gently moved the Big Brother’s arm into his lap, he shushed the creature softly when he started to whimper and stabbed the needle through the suit into his upper arm. Again the creature whimpered and he tried pulling his arm back, Patrick held firmly on the sleeve and again softly shushed him.

“It’s okay, it’s alright, she just broke your arm. It’s going to hurt and feel weird a bit, I promise it’ll be okay” Patrick hesitantly squeezed the Big Brother’s hand “I’m sorry for making you go away I just...I just, whenever you seem to get or anxious I noticed it’s because I’m getting scared or I’m getting anxiety or I’m hurt and I know you don’t mean to but there’s this buzzing that happens in my head and I think it’s the bond? And I know you don’t mean to but it hurts, it feels like I’m going to pass out sometimes when it starts to buzz really loud”

The Big Brother tilted his head, making a soft whine and nodded.

“Well some of those papers I read really upset me” Patrick squeezed his hand again “does your arm feel better?” 

The Big Brother nodded, chirping and letting go of Patrick’s hand; Patrick squeaked as he was pulled into the Big Brother’s lap, he didn’t have a chance to ask why when his shirt was pushed up and he shuddered at how cold the rubber glove felt as it brushed against his side. The Big Brother made a soft whistle sound and again moved Patrick around until he managed to get the smaller man sitting up on his knees, again Patrick tried asking what was going on when his face burned brightly as his jeans were tugged down a bit; it took Patrick a few seconds to realize the Big Brother wanted to see if his wound was healed, with a shaky sigh Patrick pushed the hand away and sat back down.

“I’m fine, it’s healed up I promise” the Big Brother just chirped and Patrick allowed himself a small laugh “I wish I knew what that meant”

The two stood up and Patrick paused to get a few more health shots before pulling on the Big Brother’s arm to follow him down the staircase, he was confused when he was pulled back and was now being guided down a hallway to a corridor. Patrick frowned and looked up at the Big Brother, where were they going? Not that Patrick really had a plan in the first place; so far he was at a dead end on where to get evidence besides steel his nerves and head back to the labs building, either that or try finding Sarah though she had instructed Patrick not to bother her because of-

“There’s someone else besides Elisa watching me” the Big Brother stopped and looked down at Patrick “Miss Orzechowski told me, it’s some...some guy named Ryan”

The Big Brother’s light switched the the familiar blood red, a growl Patrick hadn’t heard yet came from the creature and Patrick whimpered.

“She said...I don’t know, she just mentioned he’s somewhere here in Rapture and that he’s trying to bring everything down I guess..” he allowed himself to be pulled along again “Makes me wonder if he’s seen me down here, if he’s as all-seeing as Sarah’s making him out to be...where are we going?” 

The Big Brother only chirped, though it was a throaty deep sounding one and the red light hadn’t faded any. 

Patrick began to recognize the area as they continued walking, if he was guessing right around the corner-yep, there was the room where Patrick had made friends with a wall. He figured he’d be placed in front of the wall again anyway so he already started walking from the Big Brother’s side, he jumped when his arm was snagged and he was pulled along with the Big Brother towards the storage closet. Patrick was thoroughly confused; the Big Brother was going to change his diving suit obviously...Patrick wasn’t supposed to see him though right? Now was he allowed to? He shook his head, no, recalling his earlier words he was probably going to just be allowed in the room but have to look at the door or at least away from the Big Brother; however this made Patrick smile a little, that meant the Big Brother trusted him enough to not turn around while in the same room. 

Once the doors were shut Patrick stared for a few seconds; it looked like random garbage even though he knew better, recognizing several things for Big Daddies and Big Sisters. The Big Brother chirped and Patrick took that as a cue to turn around, for a few moments he tried looking over his shoulder only for the Big Brother to place his hand over Patrick’s eyes with a soft purr. The door was interesting for about 3 minutes before Patrick’s mind started wandering to everything he’d read, making his stomach roll for a few moments before he forced a sigh to calm himself. Behind him Patrick heard rustling and the curiosity spiked up but only for a second, he grumbled and smacked his head against the door causing a loud echo that made him shriek. Behind he heard a growl and felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment, he mumbled a soft “sorry” and went back to staring at the door. 

There was more shuffling and Patrick jump a little at a loud metal clang hitting the floor, did-did the Big Brother just take his helmet off? He could  _ do  _ that-wait no shit, Stump, if he can remove his suit surely he could do that too. Again the same curiosity spiked up, Patrick chewed on his lip and stared at his shoes; he squealed when suddenly heavy burlap cascaded over him, he fell to the floor and started wrestling to get the suit off him while he heard the muffled sound of the Big Brother laughing. The Big Brother must’ve suited up quick again (Patrick figured he’d been doing it for some time) and pulled Patrick out of the mess he’d tangled himself in; the smaller man glared up at the creature and huffed, kicking the pant leg of the suit as if it could react in anyway. 

It was tossed aside and Patrick stood back up with a huff, the Big Brother chirped and pushed Patrick hair out of his face again; they exited the room and now the Big Brother followed Patrick, the smaller man had made up his mind on where to head next since it would apparently take Elisa a bit to find useful information about the bond. They made their way to an area where a few machines were, Patrick was already stocked up on health shots and gathered a few more supplies; 2 med kits, a few more EVE shots, and a few bags of potato chips he munched on thoughtfully as he made his way towards the hallway leading down to the bathysphere dock.

“So I know you’re going to say no, but we have to go back” sure enough the Big Brother growled and grabbed Patrick’s arm as he started down the sets of steps “listen to me! I need more evidence and that place from what Elisa told me has five floors, that’s five floors of evidence that I’m assuming you didn’t go through. Look, you don’t have to come with me but I need to find whatever is there” 

The Big Brother growled again and tugged Patrick back up a step, did he really just say that? No way in hell was he letting Patrick go back there alone. 

“Then come with me” Patrick pried the hand off his arm and started back down the steps “most of the ways for me to go anywhere in most of these buildings are blocked by debris or water, that building doesn’t seem to have any damage and I’m going to take advantage of it while I can” 

There was one last growl before the Big Brother followed Patrick to the docking bay, silently Patrick was relieved the Big Brother was going with him. He didn’t want to get his hops though as he neared the sphere, the Big Brother was most likely going to go back into the ocean again because...well, there was some reason surely but Patrick couldn’t think of one. However he was wrong, as he hopped into the Bathysphere the Big Brother crawled in and sat back against a wall, Patrick didn’t try hiding his smile as he pushed the level to seal the sphere and quickly set the location for where they needed to go. He walked over and sat back in the Big Brother’s lap, immediately the creature wrapped his arms around Patrick and Patrick lay his head against the Big Brother’s shoulder; the Big Brother let out a soft tuneless whistle that had Patrick smiling. 

_ This is nice  _ Patrick thought, despite his entirely mixed emotions still running rampant  _ I don’t know if the bond affects how I feel towards him but this really is nice. _

The Big Brother let out a throaty purr and squeezed Patrick, the smaller man’s cheeks turned pink, shit could he hear Patrick again? Or could he just feel how safe Patrick felt?

“I hope Elisa figures something out” Patrick murmured, he turned around in the Big Brother’s arms and stared out the hatch at the underwater scenes “It’d be nice to actually be able to talk to you, then we wouldn’t have to get annoyed with each other”

The Big Brother purred again and Patrick squeaked a little when it started to rub his stomach.

“Hey-no, no, don’t do that” Patrick pulled so the Big Brother’s arms were wrapped around him again “I don’t like people touching my stomach” 

The Big Brother made a low sound, was it sighing? Patrick thought he’d already heard it sigh before but it didn’t-screw it. 

“Did you happen to kill Dr. Way?” Patrick feels cold when he asks this question, feels the Big Brother’s arms tense around him.

There’s silence, then a soft chirp.

Patrick nods  _ I thought so  _ “it’s fine...I don’t know what all he did but you had a right to kill him. That’s one last person for us to be worried about, right? At least there won’t be someone trying to cut you open again, I’d like you not to be hurt”

Another purr and Patrick being squeezed again, the smaller man took that as  _ I don’t want you hurt either.  _

Ahead the labs building began to come into view; Patrick sat up a little straighter and felt his stomach do a somersault,the buzzing started to creep through his skull again and pain danced behind his eyes. He twisted his body around and looped his arms around the Big Brother’s neck, pressing his face into his shoulder and sighing shakily; the Big Brother squeezed Patrick but the buzz didn’t fade, it seemed to worsen.

“Calm down” Patrick croaked, wincing as the buzz felt like it was scraping inside his skull “calm down for me, okay? You’re hurting my head”

The Big Brother chirped and squeezed him again. 

With a sigh Patrick stared hesitantly as the sub rose through the water and flinched seeing the large doors once the sub was above water. Despite knowing the spliced-up doctor was dead Patrick could swear he heard things moving around as they entered the lobby area again, to be truthful though Patrick doubted he was the only one alive in the whole building; five floors but just one Splicer? No way, besides that the nightmare had looked fresh (sure he knew the cold could preserve things but not that well, he at least paid a little attention in science class) and he wondered if it hadn’t actually been the remains of another Splicer or two splattered around. 

“Okay so did you cover this whole floor?” 

The Big Brother nodded but the way he kept looking around had Patrick feeling sick again.

“Alright...so um” Patrick walked over and stood beside the creature, his eyes wandered over to the nightmare room, door still wide open “...hang on” 

Before the creature could grab him Patrick ran over and skidded a bit in front of the room, he reached in and flicked the light on fully expecting the carnage to be there-

“What the  _ fuck”  _

There was absolutely nothing, literally  _ nothing;  _ the entire room looked as clean and empty as all the other rooms had from what little Patrick had glimpsed as they ran from Dr. Way. Patrick jumped when the Big Brother snatched him off the ground and he found himself being held bridal style, his cheeks burned and he scowled at the Big Brother while pushing at his shoulder. 

“Oh my god, put me down! I was saying that because the room is entirely clean and I  _ know  _ there is no way you had anything to do with it” Patrick swatted at the Big Brother’s arm when he was set back down “I’m gonna bite you the next time you do that”

The Big Brother made a low whistle sound, Patrick rolled his eyes.

“But seriously what the hell” Patrick ignored the Big Brother trying to grab his arm and walked into the room, turning around in a full circle “it’s literally completely sterilized, this doesn’t make any sense”

The Big Brother stayed in the doorway, his light occasionally changing to orange, and let out a low groaning sound; he gestured for Patrick to come back to his side, the smaller man was right about all of those being suspicious but he shared the same sick gut feeling with Patrick.

Patrick sighed and shook his head “right okay, so let’s head to the floor above I guess? If I could find a map of this place-”

They both heard it then, a strange loud rushing sound; before Patrick could say anything or the Big Brother could pull him out of the room one of the ceiling tiles suddenly broke apart and what looked like a waterfall of blood and god knows what else rushed out, right on top of Patrick. He screamed and threw himself forward, he stumbled and slipped with flailing arms; the Big Brother grabbed the smaller man and pulled him out of the room as the blood waterfall ended quickly, the whole room once again caked in carnage. Patrick was coughing and spluttering, his clothes felt heavy and the sick smell of decay was clinging to him; the taste of copper occasionally hit his tongue and he felt sick having to pull his glasses seeing the blood caking them. The Big Brother pulled Patrick along with him suddenly down the right hallway, the smaller man attempting to not throw up as the coppery taste started to change to something more rotten.

Patrick was pulled along into a room and he promptly slipped out of the Big Brother’s hold, he hit the floor with a loud shriek and whimpered as he realized with horror he’d just swallowed a bit of bloody spit. The Big Brother was beside him in an instant, confused whistle giving Patrick a headache along with the buzzing shooting in thin slivers of pain through his head; he slipped a little as he sat up and gagged as the sweet smell hit him again, Patrick didn’t know where the hell they were but all he knew was that he wanted his fucking clothes off  _ now.  _ His vision was currently blurred without his glasses, he started to lift the hem of his sweater to wipe them then paused recalling that all that would do would spread the blood; maybe even add to the mess. 

He hadn’t noticed the Big Brother leave his side ‘till the creature was pulling him to stand and follow him over to a wall; Patrick blinked a few times before it made sense what he was seeing, a washer and dryer...what? He looked quizzically up at the Big Brother, why did he know-oh...duh, he probably knew where some things were in this building since it seems like he spent some time here (against his will, Patrick’s guilty voice hissed at him). The Big Brother made a low noise and reached out to tug on Patrick’s sweater; the smaller man stared for a few more moments before mumbling a soft “oh” and pushed the Big Brother’s arm away, he fiddled with the hem of it for a few seconds before gesturing a little to the door.

“Um...can you maybe…?” was he being prude? Not really, Patrick just wasn’t sure he wanted someone to see him standing in his boxers.

There was a soft whistling mixed with the laughing sound, Patrick scowled at the Big Brother but the creature did wander out of the room and shut the door. 

With a sigh Patrick tugged his clothes off, it was difficult since most of it clung to him and he had to keep from throwing up as his clothes practically made wet sucking sounds as they peeled off him. He dropped them into the washer and silently prayed that the plumbing still worked, he smiled as the sound of water filling the washer filled the room and Patrick sat on the floor; he hissed as cold tile stuck to his thighs and flinched. Outside the room came a low whistle and Patrick, the slight buzzing returned and part of him wanted to tell the Big Brother to come back in but…

“I’m fine! Just, really cold floor tile and all that…” Patrick shifted around and sighed with relief as the feeling died down “um, are you okay out there?”

No answer, or there was but it was too low for Patrick to hear it.

_ Maybe I should let him come back in?  _ Patrick looked at the door then slowly looked down at his currently discarded bloody shoes and the trail that had been led in, his stomach twisted “Um, hey so I know you can’t really do much about the blood but uh...can you...maybe get..washed off? Fuck, I don’t know” 

He felt relieved when he heard the muffled amused sound and the sound of footsteps fading away. 

“Okay…” Patrick shuddered a little as he stood, he needed to wipe his shoes off with something, a quick look around the room showed there was a counter with a few cabinets above it, a single chair against the wall, and a little dresser nearby “hmm”

Upon opening it Patrick found several hospital gowns, he tugged one off the hanger and walked over to where his shoes lay; it was a gross task (obviously) and Patrick wasn’t sure if he’d really helped so much as maybe rubbed the gore into his shoes, with an annoyed sigh he decided he’d done just fine (or as best as he could). Patrick grabbed his glasses from the where he lay them on the dryer and wiped them off, of course he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea but he used some of his spit to clean it off until he could surprisingly see clearly now. He looked down at his shoes and sighed, they were definitely a lot more maroon than before; as he sat back down he jumped hearing thudding footsteps come up to the door, he laughed nervously as the yellow light peeked through the glass of the door.

“You washed off now?” again Patrick shivered as he sat on cold tiles “I hope you actually  _ did  _ wash yourself off, I don’t really like the color red at the moment” 

There was a low whistle and Patrick froze up when the door opened, the Big Brother paused in the doorway and Patrick swore he felt his soul die. 

“ _ I didn’t say you could come in!”  _ Patrick’s face burned brightly as his voice cracked like he 17 all over again “Fucking-I didn’t-I’m almost naked you can’t just come in!”

The Big Brother was still standing there, head tilted to the side and...was he checking Patrick out- _ NO!  _

Patrick groaned and covered his face,  _ why  _ was he getting embarrassed? It wasn’t like-ugh fuck being self-conscious. The Big Brother shrugged about something Patrick didn’t understand, he shut the door behind him and walked over to Patrick; the smaller man shrank a bit as the Big Brother sat close to him, yes usually Patrick wouldn’t give a crap but-for fuck’s sake the man was half naked. 

_ Well he’s not really human anymore, I doubt he really cares much about me being nearly naked in front of him  _ Patrick looked at a random stain on the white tiles as if it were the most interesting thing in the world  _ Ot’s going to take a bit for the blood to get out of my clothes… _

Patrick jumped when the Big Brother chirped, he looked shyly up at him and felt like a tomato when the creature reached over and pushed several sticky strands from Patrick’s head.

Oh right, Patrick had somehow forgotten his hair was caked with blood “Um, is there a chance there’s showers around here? Like, not chemical showers but actual running water showers?”

The Big Brother tilted his head, still fiddling with Patrick’s hair before chirping and standing up.

“Is...that a yes?” Patrick stared at the hand that was offered to him before taking it hesitantly “um, you can’t be in the room when I shower if you’re taking me to a room with one”

It was  _ not  _ Patrick’s imagination when the Big Brother let out a disappointed sound, he made what he would’ve called a dying pig noise and pulled his hand back to wrap his arms around himself.

“I swear to God I am going to hit you” He grumbled looking down at his feet, he  _ had  _ to have been reading way too much into everything the Big Brother was doing, that had to have been it!

With a shrug the Big Brother pulled Patrick along with him out of the room and 3 rooms down, Patrick sent the Big Brother a warning glare before shutting the door behind him and again he heard the muffled laughter sound. Dick, Patrick thought as he walked up to the shower; he doubted there was any warm water (sure the plumbing worked for the washer but that didn’t mean it would be warm), luck must’ve been on his side as steam rose from the water when he turned it on. He tossed his boxers aside and hissed as the water hit his skin, immediately his body went lax and Patrick almost felt relieved...at least until he started tasting copper. A shiver crawled up his spine and he looked around, turning red again as he realized he still his glasses on. Another thing Patrick realized was that he didn’t know where a towel was, he just wanted to get into the fucking shower and get the mess out of his hair; he groaned loudly and peeked out of the shower around the room, he spotted a few towels folded neat on a counter nearby but just far enough Patrick was going to trail water. He huffed but ignored his water concern to bring the towels closer and set his glasses on top of the stack before hopping back into the hot water.

Patrick hadn’t realized how filthy he was until he watched the stream of blood and grime and whatever else get sucked down the drain, conveniently enough there was soap and Patrick was relieved that the blood seemed to be coming out of his hair easier than he’d anticipated. As much as he was reluctant he knew that he couldn’t stay in the shower forever; quickly Patrick dried himself off best he could and tugged his boxers back on, no way in hell was he walking around naked-well completely naked at least. Speaking of nearly naked, there was still one more towel that was dry and Patrick wrapped it around his shoulders as he exited the room; the Big Brother had been leaning against the wall and jumped when Patrick emerged, the smaller man snickered as he made his way down back to the room. The wash seemed to have finished, Patrick wrinkled his nose as he peeked in and saw that his once white sweater was now a faint Valentine pink; fucking great, it would take another wash to get that out since he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to find bleach anywhere. 

He huffed a sigh and hugged the towel a little tighter before setting it on the ground and decided fuck it, he didn’t have all day-night-whatever to whine over blood stained clothes; they didn’t smell which he found as a plus as he tossed the wet clothes into the dryer and started it. Patrick carefully sat on the floor, hissing at the cold and yes he knew he could use the towel to sit on but he’d rather have something covering his shoulders than him being aware of the Big Brother having  _ literally  _ checked him out. Speaking of, the Big Brother finally entered the room and shut the door behind him; Patrick shrank a little as the creature sat beside him and felt  a twinge of guilt. The Big Brother didn’t try reaching for Patrick though, just sat near him and looked at the dryer. 

“Ya know, I figured something would’ve heard us by now since the pipes sounded loud when I took a shower” Patrick mumbled, mainly to himself.

The Big Brother whistled softly and Patrick sighed-

_ -looks so squishy, I wish he’d let me hold him there’s no way the floor isn’t cold- _

Patrick felt his ears turn pink “I can hear you” he mumbled softly.

The Big Brother shrank in on himself and made a low whining noise.

Patrick didn’t try hiding his laughter “I’ll have you know I am  _ not  _ squishy, I just-I have a stomach that’s all and I’m perfectly fine on the floor” 

The Big Brother made his amused sound and tugged on Patrick’s arm.

The smaller man scowled and hugged himself “no, I am not sitting in your lap or letting you hold me. I don’t really like how rubber feels and your gloves will feel weird”

The Big Brother made a new sound-or maybe it was the same? Patrick was losing track-resembling a wheel screeching but softly, then gestured at Patrick’s face.

“What?” Patrick frowned before feeling the buzzing again, he flinched and let out a shaky hiss “stop-that hurts-hang on!” he shouted.

The Big Brother flinched and growled a little, again waving his hand at Patrick’s face.

Patrick frowned “You-what? Do you want me to..not look at you or something? Cover my face-oh! Cover my face, why do you want me to cover my face”

The Big Brother huffled, he was getting tired of all the questions.

Patrick sighed “alright, alright, let me just...yeah”

Patrick adjusted the towel so it now covered his head and pressed both hands over his eyes, now would the Big Brother be-he tensed up hearing movement and the sound of something rubbing on burlap, what the hell was the Big Brother doing? Patrick started to move his hands but froze as the Big Brother pressed his hand over Patrick’s, the smaller man huffed and leaned back a bit; fuck those gloves were cold. The burlap sound continued until Patrick heard 2 small plopping-thuds, again Patrick almost moved his hands but froze up upon feeling what felt like calloused fingertips brush against his cheek; before he could really process this it felt like soft leather was now cradling his face, his brain finally caught up to him when the Big Brother let out the throaty purr but sounding lower. It was an understatement to say Patrick’s mind wasn’t going a million places at once, the only one main focus though was  _ HE’S TOUCHING ME WITHOUT HIS GLOVES WHAT.  _ Patrick swallowed dryly and slowly leaned towards the left a little, again the Big Brother purred and Patrick was...surprisingly okay with this. 

“You just wanted to touch me?” it came out in a croaky voice, pink dusted Patrick’s cheeks in embarrassment.

A soft chirp, the Big Brother had started tracing small circles with his thumb against the cheek Patrick had pressed against his hand.

“Oh” why did that make a weird fluttering feeling in Patrick’s stomach? “Um...satisfied?”

The Big Brother let out an amused sound and Patrick regretted asking that as the hands pulled away from him; He opened his mouth to protest, maybe make up some bullshit excuse because the Big Brother’s hands had felt incredibly warm making Patrick wonder if all of the Big Brother felt like a furnace.There was shuffling and Patrick realized the Big Brother had moved to be directly in front of Patrick, the warm hands returned to cradling his face followed by soft whistling; the smaller man again leaned into the touch and Patrick sighed but paused, his arms were starting to get tired…

“Hey um...so this is really nice-your hands feel really nice I mean...but my arms are starting to get tired-” a disappointed sound and the Big Brother started to pull his hands away, Patrick grabbed the sleeves quickly “but I don’t want you to not touch me! Um-I mean….you seem to like it so...I can just keep my eyes shut, I promise”

There was a pause followed by a chirp, Patrick took that as an okay.

“Alright…” he felt since he’d already moved his hands in the first place but he folded them neatly in his lap and hunched his shoulders a tad “um...okay, I can’t see anything” 

The amused sound returned and Patrick relaxed into the Big Brother’s hands with a sigh. 

That was how they stayed for a few more seconds, Patrick leaning into a gentle hold and the Big Brother stroking Patrick’s cheek with his thumb; to be truthful for a few seconds Patrick forgot all about where he was, all the stress he’d been feeling, pretty much everything disappeared into the gentle touch. Of course that was interrupted by the dryer letting out a terrifyingly loud beep, Patrick jumped and squeaked as the towel fell over his eyes; the Big Brother let out a half growl and when Patrick moved the towel the creature now had his back to Patrick, the smaller man winced a little and sighed. Patrick stood up and walked over to the dryer, his clothes were incredibly warm and he paused to hug them quickly before starting to dress; once that was taken care of Patrick looked over to see the Big Brother (now with his gloves back on)...hunched over? Was he okay? Patrick started to ask but stopped hearing the low Big Daddy resembling sound...was he pouting? 

“Hey, come on, it’s not like I’m never going to let you touch me again” Patrick tugged his shoes on and looked back at the still pouting Big Brother “if you keep pouting I won’t”

That had the Big Brother standing up quickly, Patrick laughed and shook his head as they left the room. There was a total of 5 floors in the whole building overall, currently the two were residing on the 3rd floor and to Patrick’s annoyance since he had no idea where a map of the whole facility could be found he was going in completely blind (and even if the Big Brother knew, of course, the communication issue was starting to drive Patrick bonkers again). The second floor had the strangest lay-out Patrick had seen in most buildings of Rapture; upon reaching the top step Patrick stared at what looked like an empty room save for a few windows that peered out to the more darkened parts of the sea floor, there was a single door on one side of the room and that was it. Patrick glanced back at the Big Brother before cautiously making his way towards the door, behind he heard the disapproving growl but the Big Brother didn’t seem to hurry to stop him. Patrick stopped a few feet from the door to wait for the Big Brother, he peered through the glass window on the door curiously and felt his imagination starting to go wild with thoughts about Splicers hiding or some kind of other underwater horror waiting.

Patrick jumped when the Big Brother let out a low rumble, the smaller man looked up with a light glare and huffed; the door was unlocked, to Patrick’s unease, and he shoved it open quickly. He pulled his gun out and hesitantly reached around the door to see if he could find a lightswitch, immediately the memory of the nightmare room rushed forward and Patrick walked in to move towards the left wall; the Big Brother stepped in after, Patrick didn’t bother looking where the light was shining and finally he jammed his index finger against switch. The light switched on and Patrick expected to see something gorey; instead, Patrick was greeted with the sight of a steel slab-table and a large light hanging above it, a few cabinets nearby with several medical looking chemicals and pills, and a filing cabinet. He felt his stomach twisting as his eyes fell back onto the work table, the image of a dark room with figures about to do God only knew what to someone appeared in his mind-

Patrick turned around quickly and pressed his hands to his face, the pressure causing dots to dance before his eyes “I-fuck, fuck...this is definitely the perfect horror novel setting, just one fucking room on a floor”

The Big Brother moved to stand in front of Patrick, gently he moved Patrick’s hands and titled his head up while softly whistling.

Patrick let out a shaky breath and stared up at him “did you mean to? To put that memory in my head?” God, that sounded so accusing “no, of course you didn’t...you wouldn’t do that”

The Big Brother just chirped and gently squeezed Patrick’s face.

“Yeah, I figured-” a sharp pain shot through Patrick’s eyes, he shrieked and shoved the Big Brother away, clapping his hands back over his eyes “Fuck!” 

The Big Brother knelt down and whined, reaching out again and gently pulling Patrick closer to him again.

“Fuck, God fuck, what the hell is wrong with my eyes” Patrick forced his hands away from his face and winced, tears welled up and spilled over his cheeks “fuck-it’s not my eyes it’s my fucking head” 

The Big Brother chirped and gently cupped Patrick’s face in his hands again, making a soft whistling noise.

“It hurts” Patrick shut his eyes and pressed his cheek into the Big Brother’s right hand “ugh, fuck, feels like when I had to get used to pressure down here”

“Everything’s just trying to fuck your head up, isn’t it?”

Patrick froze and slowly opened his eyes, did he just…? “I...did you just…”

The Big Brother stared at Patrick and made a soft trilling sound.

“You just talked” Patrick stated bluntly.

The Big Brother’s fingers started to dig into Patrick’s face, most likely on accident  “Patrick?”

“Yeah?” he responded automatically then froze, eyes widening and quickly he pushed the Big Brother’s hands away from his Face “I-I can hear you-fuck this fucking headache” again he grabbed at his face and whimpered.

“Patrick? Hey, hey, come here”  that voice was so far away sounding, as if Patrick was standing inside a cave yet he could clearly make them out; the Big Brother pulled him into a brief hug before tilting Patrick’s head up to look at him  “Can you-how bad is it? Think you can walk?”

“I-maybe?” Patrick whined again and rubbed at his eyes ‘till he saw dots “fuck, no okay no, I don’t think I can-I don’t know fuck it hurts”

The Big Brother nodded and stood up, adjusting the oxygen tank to his front again before turning around and crouching for Patrick to hop up; the smaller man pressed his face into the Big Brother’s shoulders and scrunched his eyes tighter, where the hell has this fucking headache come from? 

“Please don’t throw up on me” 

Patrick laughed lightly, wincing as lights danced in front of his eyes “I’ll give you a heads up if I need to”

Of course the Big Brother knew if he tried making Patrick go back to the bathysphere they’d probably have another fight so instead he made Patrick wait in the lobby area while he went back upstairs and dug around the filing cabinet.

“Literally just shove everything in the fucking thing” Patrick handed his satchel to the Big Brother after pulling the doll out “or at least whatever will fit, I’m not really picky at this point”

With that the Big Brother disappeared again and Patrick kept his gun to his side; the blue glow from Rapture reflected in and cast eerie shadows on the floor, the silence was starting to make Patrick paranoid again and he swore he heard skittering once more somewhere down a hall. He chewed on his lip as he shifted around in the chair, he tried staring out at the sea life passing by but his headache was still persisting and his eyes occasionally stung; Patrick started questioning in, why the hell was this headache persisting? Maybe he could find some pain medication but that didn’t answer  _ why  _ it was happening and more importantly  _ why  _ he was suddenly able to hear the Big Brother (even though it wasn’t all that loud). 

“You okay down there?” 

Patrick jumped and squeaked, grabbing at the left side of his head and wincing “Um...yeah? Er…”  _ yes?  _

“Okay, I’ll be down in a sec” 

Patrick just nodded, then felt incredibly stupid because no one was even around to see; how was he supposed to talk to the Big Brother anyway? Could he hear Patrick when he talked-well technically he should, Patrick supposed, since every time we speak it’s words being thought in our mind and then being said-ow, okay, overthinking made his head worse. Patrick stood up and wandered over to the hall where the stairs were, maybe the headache had to do with him allowing the Big Brother to actually have skin-to-skin (was it really even skin anymore? It had felt more like leather...skin-to-leather contact? No, that just sounded stupid). Patrick hummed in thought and turned the corner to the stairs and froze; that was not the Big Brother, that was 2 figures in bloody and torn up doctor uniforms currently looking like dogs while licking up a pool of glowing red liquid-ADAM Patrick realized.

He stepped back on unsteady legs; neither Splicer had even noticed him yet and quickly Patrick turned and hurried out of the hall, 2 Splicers wouldn’t have been much of a problem but the fact that they were practically devouring the ADAM like they needed it (obviously they did in their own minds) and Patrick wasn’t sure just what kind of Plasmids they had. Unfortunately as Patrick entered the lobby again and snatched the doll up he heard ear splitting shrieks and caught a glimpse of the two figures rounding around the hallway corner, quickly Patrick took off towards the center hall; behind him he heard the sound of several chairs suddenly crashing into the walls, one glance over his shoulders should scorch marks of electricity on the floor and that confirmed that at least one of the 2 had the electro bolt plasmid. 

“Come back here! Come back here right now, you’re sick, you’ve got an ADAM addiction!” Patrick winced at how shrill that voice was “Get back here you little bastard!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck fuck!” Patrick rounded a corner and crashed into a door, without thinking he threw the door open and scrambled in the dark to find some place to hide “Fuck, fuck!”

Patrick smashed his face into something as he crawled, pain bloomed in his nose but he realized it had been a dresser like the ones that held hospital gowns; he felt like a child as he scrambled inside and shut the door, somehow it was even darker inside and his paranoia went up as he heard the insane rambles of the Splicers run by the door.

_ Oh God, oh God, oh God, I’m going to die, I left all my EVE shots in the fucking satchel  _ Patrick scrunched his eyes tightly and tried breathing evenly, his headache had started to pound in his head.

“Patrick, Patrick?! Patrick!”  Patrick opened his eyes to complete darkness  “Fuck, I’ve been trying to talk to you! Where are you, you’re terrified right now what’s going on?”

“Splicers” Patrick whispered, not daring to speak at normal volume

“ _ FUCK!  _ Hold on, stay wherever you are”

“No!” Patrick clapped his hand over his mouth and froze for a few seconds “no, one of them has the electro bolt plasmid, I don’t know what the other has. There’s two of them, there’s two of us, find me in the front lobby and we’ll go from there”

“Patrick no-stay where you are”

“You’ve seen by now I’m not gonna listen to you” with that, Patrick exited the dresser and hurried to the door “You can yell at me when we find each other”

“You fucking stubborn little!”

Patrick paused, straining to hear if the Splicers were still in the area, then threw the door open and hauled ass down the hallway; of course the sound of the door crashing into the wall alerted the Splicers that he was on the run but Patrick didn’t care, even if the Big Brother wasn’t already in the lobby Patrick figured he’d paralyze at least one of them and fire a few bullets into the others head. Sure enough the Big Brother is already in the lobby and Patrick’s feeling relieved when the pain of electricity shoots through his system, his body tensing up and he crashed down into the cold tile floor; one of the Splicers is suddenly digging both feet into Patrick’s back while cackling loudly and the other appeared with red flames crackling around his left hand.

“Holy fuck, the freak’s not dead! Holy hell” the one digging his feet into Patrick cackled “Did you finally find a friend in hell? The devil was nice to you then!”

“But we’re here to take care of that” the other knelt down next to Patrick, lower the fire hand only a few inches from his face “try anything and I’ll burn your little bitch, got it?” 

The Big Brother let out a deep growl and took a step forward but stopped as the fire Splicer moved his hand closer, Patrick let out a whimper as the tiniest bit of his bangs were singed. 

“Be nice now, we just want some ADAM, don’t you understand that? You didn’t have a problem fucking drinking the shit before we turned you into the lab rat you are now” the one on top of Patrick had shifted around so he was now digging both knees into Patrick’s back and had both hands on the man’s shoulders for balance “we’re just gonna open him up and sew him back shut! Won’t be a problem, just a little bit of bleeding and some organs missing but it’ll be fine!”

Patrick felt bile in his throat as the fire Splicer grabbed his head with his non-plasmid hand and jerked on his hair to make him face up “you found a pretty little shit, maybe we’ll cut his throat open like you and drink the ADAM from there?”

Thankfully Patrick’s body finally worked again; he twisted his left hand to direct it at the fire Splicer and froze him, Patrick jerked so the Splicer on his back would fall and quickly Patrick paralyzed him. The froze Splicer still had a hold on Patrick’s hair but quickly Patrick smashed his hand to pieces with the handle of his gun, he fired several shots at the paralyzed Splicer and killed him; the frozen Splicer shattered as the Big Brother slammed his blade into it, Patrick curled in on himself as a few chunks hit him.

“Well that wasn’t fun” Patrick mumbled as he stood up, wobbling a little on unsteady legs “did you find stuff?”

The Big Brother growled and grabbed Patrick’s arm, the smaller man hissed and stumbled as he started being dragged along.

“Hey! You are  _ not  _ taking me back to the bathysphere, those two just caught me off guard!” Patrick jerked on his arm a few more times before the Big Brother finally let go “fucking-I dropped the doll hang on”

Patrick returned quickly and glared up at the Big Brother, the creature seemed equally annoyed and Patrick followed him to the bathysphere docks; apparently he wasn’t going to lock Patrick back in the sub and instead just emptied the satchel, Patrick immediately pulled an EVE shot out of it and stabbed it into his arm. 

“You’re going to become a druggie” 

Patrick jumped and glared at the Big Brother “No I’m not, I’m just making sure I get enough so I don’t have to only rely on my gun”

The Big Brother just growled again and grabbed Patrick’s arm, the smaller man rolled his eyes and followed him out of the docking area.

* * *

 

 

Patrick was both impressed and disappointed as they found literally nothing throughout the whole building save for what the Big Brother had found; 5 whole floors and so far only 2 turned anything up. The 1st floor had several doors but each room was completely barren save for a few chairs and some empty desks, the 4th floor was all medical equipment and chemicals upon chemicals lining up walls, and the 5th floor was completely drowned.

“I feel like this was almost a waste of time” Patrick mumbled as they headed back to the sub “at least you found some stuff”

“And you’ve managed to get bathed in blood, almost get burned up by some Splicers, and nearly fell into water because apparently you can’t keep your balance on some stairs”  The Big Brother pulled Patrick into his lap once Patrick had pulled the hatch shut and set the coordinates for the luxury building.

“You shut up” Patrick huffed but he turned and snuggled into the Big Brother’s arms “It’s your fault I have this headache I’m pretty sure. Who knows, we’ll have to see what Elisa found” 

“I haven’t done anything to you” 

“I think you accidentally sped up the bonding process or...yeah I guess that’s the best way to say it” Patrick shifted around and plopped his face against the Big Brother again “also wanna know how I know that? I haven’t been paying attention much but you suddenly don’t reek to high heaven anymore. I think you sped it up when you touched me without your gloves” 

There was a chirp followed by arms squeezing Patrick gently  “you’re the one who let me. You could’ve told me no”

“And I’m not complaining about it I’m just saying I think you sped it up on accident by touching me skin to skin” Patrick swatted at the other’s arm with a huff.

“I didn’t  _ say  _ you were complaining” 

Patrick rolled his eyes, not such a good idea since a sliver of pain shot across his eyes and made him hiss as he shut them tightly “ow ow...I hope this headache goes away, it won’t be fun running around Rapture with it”

“I’ll carry you, I don’t mind”  the Big Brother started carding his fingers through Patrick’s hair  “you can hear me now though, isn’t that good?”

“ _ Of course  _ that’s good, that’s what we’ve been trying to do-I mean, assuming that you  _ did  _ actually want some kind of bond with me” Patrick felt stupid saying that, why else would the Big Brother- “oh um, hey….do you...have a name?”

The Big Brother made an amused sound  “No Patrick, I don’t have a name”

Patrick sat up straighter, feeling his ears turn pink “Well I just meant-”

“It’s Pete”  the Big Brother-no, Pete-pushes Patrick’s hair back again and whistles fondly  “I know what you meant, you were asking if I remembered it”

“Essentially yeah” Patrick found himself smiling “um, how exactly do you know my name?”

“I heard Elisa say it”  Pete went back to petting Patrick  “I like your name”

“Thanks” Patrick was blushing again.

The bathysphere entered the docking area and the two excited, Patrick found it ironic that he had missed the annoying amount of Splicers in favor of the silence of the labs building. Halfway up to the floor where Elisa’s safehouse was the sound of the shortwave radio going off caused Patrick to jump, he shot Pete a glare hearing him make the strange laughing sound he did before pulling it out to see Elisa’s face.

“Dr. Yao, everything okay?”

“ _ Where have you been? I’ve been-oh nevermind. You need to come back to the safehouse, plenty of things that will help you throw Urie behind bars but I only found one thing about the bond and it’s easier if you just read it. Most of it won’t make sense to you but there’s bits and pieces that explain the process _ ” 

Patrick frowned and glanced at Pete over his shoulder “um, speaking of the process? I think we might’ve done something we shouldn’t have-or at least we...figured out how to speed the process up ourselves?”

“ _ What? Patrick what are you talking about-just get back here!”  _ with that, Elisa disappeared from the radio.

“Well she’s in a good mood” Patrick mumbled and shoved the radio back in his satchel “How mad do you think she’s going to be?”

“Considering she didn’t want me near  _ her little ones _ I think she’s going to ask you to drown me”  Pete pushed Patrick’s hair back again  “You won’t leave me?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking that since I’ve thrown a two year old tantrum at you a few times?” Patrick pushed his hand away and rolled his eyes “I literally told her to fuck off when she insulted you. And got drunk. So no, there is no way I’m going to leave you”

Pete seemed satisfied with that answer; Elisa was again glaring at Patrick when they reached the safehouse door but said nothing, she did however grab Patrick’s arm and pull him along faster. Again all the girls swamped Pete once they entered the safehouse, Patrick tried turning around to say something but was jerked forward and shoved along until they were standing near Elisa’s desk.

“What the hell?” Patrick jerked his arm away and rubbed where her nails had started to dig.

“What did you do? What did he do to you?” Elisa moved to her desk and snatched up a single piece of paper “what did he do?” 

“Nothing! He didn’t do anything I didn’t say yes to!” Patrick glanced at the paper warily “So what is that”

“You tell me” she held it out to him and sat at the desk, giving Patrick an icy stare “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you touched him, or he touched you?”

“We’re always touching somehow, Dr. Yao, I let him hug him and I told you he’s my bed” Patrick scowled “but if you mean skin to skin contact then yes”

Elisa tensed “how exactly?”

“Good God woman-he took his gloves off and he held my face, happy?” Patrick glanced at the paper and frowned “Elisa most of this is science garbage, I don’t understand it”

“Look at the bottom part, Patrick” she snapped though now Patrick saw what he would call terrified concern.

The Little Sisters secrete a substance that keeps the Big Daddies alive, this so far has been a failed attempt regarding trying to imprint one of the Little Sisters onto the Big Brother. Urie’s orders to change the Big Brother from a working tool to that of the same as the Big Daddies is proving to be difficult. However, a new breakthrough has occurred regarding the substance the Big Brother has started to secrete; unintentionally we have created a filter that allows the substance to slowly be absorbed into the skin of another (i.e. a Little Sister that Dr. Yao has volunteered for us). The substance is absorbed into the neural system and travels to the mind where a “mental connection” to put it simply is created and so far the bond has begun to grow with the current Little Sister. However previous tests show that skin to skin contact with the Little Sister could prove fatal due to the immense amount of chemicals being absorbed at once into the neural system. The Big Brother must keep something to act as a filter between itself and whoever it may bond too. 

Fear coiled in Patrick’s stomach as he re-read the word ‘Fatal’ “I...there’s nothing else? Nothing at all talking about the bond?”

“Just the formulas but those aren’t important at the moment” Elisa sighed and shook her head “you allowed him to touch you without his gloves on, how are you feeling?’

“Just a slight headache” Patrick mumbled, he set the paper back on the desk and looked up at her “You think I’m going to die if he touches me again?”

“You read the paper, Patrick. They said it could prove fatal-”

“But I’m  _ not  _ a little girl, Elisa” Patrick rubbed at the base of his neck again, fuck Pete could not only feel Patrick being upset but he could hear him too “I’m not small, I’m older and my body is developed more not to mention I’m not a girl”

“Exactly, Patrick! They only have documented evidence on what the chemicals do to a female body, who knows what that little bit of physical contact will do to you. You said you have a headache, has it gotten any better? Worse?” 

Patrick frowned and glanced out of the room with a heavy sigh “for fuck’s sake-it’s stayed the same except when I exert myself or roll my eyes then it hurts like hell”

“Don’t roll your eyes in general” she frowned and stood “it’s almost night, you’ve been gone for a bit. You need to stay here, have him go away again since you found him-”

“He found me fucking drunk, Elisa” Patrick scowled “I’m not making him go away just because we made a little mistake. The file says that as long as there’s something between us touching skin to skin we’ll be fine, so I just need to not have him touch me again until the bond seems more...I don’t know, stable? I’ll figure it out”   

“You are so stubborn!” Elisa huffed but her eyes softened “hold on a moment will you?”

Patrick started to protest but closed his mouth and pressed his lips into a thin line, he really didn’t have a reason to argue anymore; Elisa went over to a small cabinet and grabbed a bottle of something, Patrick felt wary as she shook something from it and returned to hand him 2 little pills.

“For you headache, I promise. Just ordinary headache pills” Elisa gave Patrick a gentle smile though he was still a little unnerved.

However, not having pain behind his eyes  _ was  _ pretty tempting “Thanks”

“Do not drink that with alcohol, Patrick Stump” Elisa grabbed his hand and pulled him over to a sink, she picked up a small cup and filled it with water “here”

“Thanks” he mumbled again and quickly swallowed the pills.

“Please tell me you’re not going to go back to sleep in that storage closet” Elisa laughed softly at Patrick’s face turning red “yes I know where you’ve been going. Stay here, I’ll make a space for you two away from me and the girls but stay”

“The closet would work fine” Patrick mumbled and headed to the closet. 

It wasn’t much of a struggle to push everything out of the room and over to a wall; the girls were still playing with Pete, they’d started to climb him like a jungle-gym and Patrick watched for a few moments with a dumb smile on his face before Elisa announced to all the girls it was time for bed. All of them threw a minor fit until Patrick hugged them all goodnight, promising he’d be there in the morning, and waved them all off to bed; Patrick was leaning against the wall near the closet when Pete came over to him.

“C’mon,we’re sleeping in here”  Patrick wandered into the closet and waited for Pete to follow him “are you okay with being my bed again?”

“Incase you haven’t noticed just yet, I’m constantly trying to touch you. Even when I tried not touching you that sucked for me because I like holding you”  Pete sat down and tugged on Patrick’s arm, the other rolled his eyes and sat in Pete’s lap  “So yeah, I’m fine with being your bed”

“Ya know what? Maybe I don’t want you to be my bed anymore” Patrick huffed but curled up against Pete “do you sleep by the way? Your light was off that one time”

“I’m sorry, did that scare you?”  Pete sounded genuinely apologetic, Patrick smiled and nuzzled Pete’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, just wondering if you do” Patrick hummed.

Pete nodded and moved around until he was curled on his side with Patrick in his arms, the smaller man rolled his eyes but soon fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who's been patient with me and still invested in this story! Haven't had the best life recently but I'm hoping things will turn around and I'll be able to update again soon.

_ There’s only colors and swirling shapes, nothing’s really solid and it’s making Patrick dizzy but part of him knows he’s about to see something again; sure enough the colors begin to turn soft shades of browns and splotches of blue and green, shapes begin to vaguely resemble furniture and an apartment room. He doesn’t want this; doesn’t want to see whatever he’s about to see because if it’s anything like the last-Patrick presses hands over his eyes but felt bile rise up as he could see through them like nothing was there, his arms flop to his side as he decides it’s useless to even try if that was the case- _

  


_ “Mom?” Patrick jerks his head in the direction of someone standing in a doorway not far from him, they’re only a strange flickering silhouette of white “Mom, Dad? What’s going on, why’s the house dark?” _

  


_ Patrick feels his stomach wrench at the helplessness in the voice, he wants to run and drag the silhouette out of the apartment-fuck, he  _ knows  _ it’s Pete and this is his memory but still!-but all he can do is watch as the silhouette enters the room and looks around, there’s no face but Patrick can feel the paranoia and rising anxiety. _

  


_ “Ryan-uh, I mean Mr. Ross told me to stay at the Fort later than usual...I don’t really know why? But I’m home now” Pete’s silhouette slowly walked further into the room, Patrick realized with grim horror most of the furniture was knocked over “what the hell...Mom! Dad! Where are you, what’s going on?” _

  


_ The scene shifted like sand; Patrick felt his gut wrench as it showed a hallway, wood splintered around and to Patrick’s horror a large blood splatter against one of the walls. Pete’s silhouette suddenly appeared right in front of him, making Patrick stumble back and nearly fall into the wall behind him; a broken sound similar to a high pitched whine came from Pete, Patrick watched him race to the last door of the hallway and freeze in the doorway.  _

  


_ “D-dad? Dad?....” Pete backed away and hit the wall, he slid down it and for a few moments the silhouette disappeared leaving only the agonized mantra of “no, no, no, please no, God no” _

  


_ “Pete?” Patrick didn’t know why he tried, this was just a memory but-he walked forward slowly and knelt beside the spot where Pete had been “Pete what-”  _

  


_ If Patrick could have he would’ve vomited; a body was against a wall, the shirt front was slashed open and the man was caked in blood while the most horrifying thing that had Patrick’s stomach churning was the several obvious head wounds inflicted on the mans’ face including a single bullet hole through one of his eyes. Pete’s silhouette re-appeared, Patrick falling on his butt as Pete quickly stood up and rushed into the room but only for a few moments before running out of the room yelling “Mom! Mom!” The scenes changed to a kitchen, where Patrick assumed dinner was being made, to another bedroom that looked unused, then a washroom where an obvious struggle had been, and finally back to the living room where the memory had first started. _

  


_ Pete’s silhouette was flickering rapidly and Patrick could hear the muffled sobs “Mom! Mo-mom, where are you? Mom!”  _

  


_ Patrick doesn’t know what makes him look towards the knocked over couch but he does, doesn’t know what makes him slowly walk over but he does-there’s a woman laying there, she’s not as abused as the man was but Patrick knows she’s dead. Pete’s silhouette is there then and he lets out a broken high pitched wail before rushing to the woman’s side, Patrick feels tears running down his face at the feeling of all-too-familiar anguish and listens to Pete’s sobs and weak “mom no, mom”. Patrick steps a little closer and sees she was shot in the head, blood caking her hair and the bullet wound so evident Patrick can only stare at it while listening to Pete sob.  _

  


_ “Pete?!” Patrick jumped and whirled around to see another silhouette running through the doorway and freezing on sight “Pete-Pete oh God you’re alive” _

  


_ Pete doesn’t do anything other than cry. _

  


_ “Pete what-” the silhouette starts to walk forward but stops, they let out a horrified gasp and are beside Pete in an instant “Oh God, oh what in God’s name-” _

  


_ “What the hell happened?!” Pete suddenly shrieked, the silhouette beside him pulling him into a flickering embrace “My Dad-my Mom-there’s supposed to be security this shouldn’t have happened!” _

  


_ “Pete we need to go” the silhouette pulls Pete up with him but Pete starts shoving away “Pete! We need to go-we need to go! They’re dead, Pete, your Mom and Dad-” _

  


_ “Who the fuck killed my parents?!” Pete shoves away again and Patrick watches the flickering silhouette disappear down the hall again. _

  


_ “Pete get back here!” the other shouts after him. _

_ The scene is ripped away and Patrick is once again surrounded by swirling colors and shapes that begin to glow too bright, too much, too-  _

_  
_

_ “Where’s Mom and Dad?” Patrick’s eyes snap open and he feels as if his gut’s been torn open “Kevin, where’s Mom and Dad?” _

_  
_

_ Megan’s standing by the foot of the stairs with Patrick behind her clinging to her nightgown, the most scared look he’s ever seen is on her face and Kevin’s standing by the front door with his back to her; Patrick feels his heart swell up with pain and tears begin to run down his cheeks in rivulets. _

_  
_

_ “Please no, please” this is  _ his  _ memory, why can’t he stop it! “I don’t want to see this!” _

_  
_

_ “Kevin!” Megan shouts finally, her face has started to turn a little red and Patrick recognizes the signs of tears “why did Aunt Liza call?”  _

_  
_

_ “Megan go back to bed, Aunt Liza’s going to be here in a little bit” Kevin turns around and Patrick sees he’s crying “Uncle Henry has to go to the funeral house” _

_  
_

_ “What?” Megan sounds terrified, the tears are running now “Why’s he going there, did Grandma die? Why aren’t Mom and Dad here!”  _

_  
_

_ Kevin glares at her “I don’t know okay! Aunt Liza just called and said she’d be here soon and she was going to tell us something important!” _

_  
_

_ “Why couldn’t she just tell you on the phone?” Megan stomps up to Kevin, leaving Patrick at the bottom of the stairs and shoves him “I want Mom and Dad!” _

_  
_

_ Kevin shoves her back “don’t hit me! I don’t know where Mom and Dad are!” _

_  
_

_ Little Patrick by the steps has begun to weep while watching his siblings push each other, why are they fighting? What’s going on and why did Aunty call so late at night? Dad trusted Kevin to watch them but usually Mom would have called the house by now to make sure they all ate- _

_  
_

_ The front door suddenly swings open and Aunt Liza stops seeing Kevin and Megan hitting each other “What are you doing? Stop that right now! Where’s Patrick-Patrick!”  _

_  
_

_ Aunt Liza rushes over and scoops up the weeping child, she glares lightly at the two siblings and Kevin speaks first “She started it! She hit me first” _

_  
_

_ “Because he won’t tell me where Mom and Dad are!” Megan shrieks and looks at Aunt Liza with a red tear-streaked face “where are they? Why is Uncle Henry going to the place for dead people” _

_  
_

_ “Kevin what did you tell your sister?” Aunt Liza snaps, attempting to calm down little Patrick “all of you, go to the living room and sit down”  _

_  
_

_ Patrick is trying not to scream as the scene shifts to all of them sitting in the living room, he drops to his knees and presses his hands over his eyes even though he knows there’s no point; Megan and Kevin are now sitting next to each other again despite having screamed at each other, they can feel something is wrong and they’re scared. Patrick had calmed down but Aunt Liza kept cradling the little brother. _

_  
_

_ “So Kevin told you that Uncle Henry is going to the funeral home, right?” she spoke all too calmly despite the fact that she had clearly been crying earlier. _

_  
_

_ “Yeah” Megan glances at Kevin then back at Aunt Liza “did Grandma die? Is that why Mom and Dad aren’t here?” _

_  
_

_ “They’re dead” present-Patrick croaks out from where he’s kneeling, shaking his head and whimpering “please let me wake up, please let me wake up”  _

_  
_

_ “No sweety…” Aunt Liza forces out a shaky breath before speaking again “there was an accident when your Dad went to pick up your Mom from work” _

_  
_

_ “What?!” Both Kevin and Megan cry out and are standing off the couch. _

_  
_

_ Aunt Liza opens her mouth, most likely to tell them to sit back down, but instead a choked out sob comes out “Uncle Henry’s at the funeral home because the accident was bad. Your Mom and Dad, they’re-” _

_  
_

_ “No!” Kevin shouts, Megan has started sobbing and shaking her head “no, Mom and Dad aren’t dead! That’s not right, they’re not old like Grandma is!” _

_  
_

_ “I want Mom! I want Dad!” Megan shrieks and little Patrick begins to cry as well by the sheer volume of it “You’re wrong! Mom and Dad aren’t dead, I want my Mom and Dad!” _

_  
_

_ Aunt Liza doesn’t know what to do, Patrick remembers she didn’t and watches as she moves from her chair to the floor and beckons the other two siblings to come to her side. She wrapped them all in a hug, everyone had been crying and Patrick had been so terrified because all he knew was that his brother and sister were crying and that Mom and Dad weren’t there. It wasn’t until later that night when Megan and Kevin had cried themselves to sleep and Patrick was still awake that his Aunt had explained to him what had happened, how the accident had taken his parents away and the mixture of emotions little Patrick had felt made no sense to his little brain but all he knew was that he would never see his Mom and Dad again. _

_  
_

_ Again there’s the nauseating scene of colors violently swirling and shapes started to form and disappear, lights get too bright and Patrick feels like he’s suddenly drowning and something is wrapped around his throat- _

“PATRICK WAKE THE FUCK UP!” 

_  
_

He does so, jerking away from the hands of someone trying to shake him awake and dry heaving as pain rips through his gut, he presses his hands against his stomach and struggled to breathe. 

_  
_

“Patrick? Patrick! Patrick what’s wrong”  Pete’s there, despite Patrick not being able to see without his glasses Pete’s there and he gently pulls Patrick into his lap  “breathe, breathe for me, Patrick”

_  
_

“I-” is all Patrick gets out before he chokes on his breath and pressed his face against Pete’s chest “My-my parents-”

_  
_

Patrick felt Pete tense against him for a few seconds before squeezing the smaller man gently  “I-you’re okay now, you’re awake Patrick. That’s not happening anymore, everything’s okay”

_  
_

Patrick lets out another broken sob “nothing is fucking okay!”

_  
_

Pete sighed and started running his hand through Patrick’s hair  “Patrick breathe, you’re not there anymore are you? Wherever you went you’re not there anymore, you’re awake-”

_  
_

“Because being in fucking Rapture is so much better!” Patrick shoved away-or tried to-from Pete and winced when Pete tightened his hold on Patrick’s arms.

_  
_

“I am  _ trying  _ to help you calm down! Stop yelling at me, you’re going to wake up Dr. Yao and the girls”  Pete pauses then softly makes the train whistle sound and Patrick momentarily relaxes  “I know Rapture isn’t any better than nightmares, Patrick, I know it’s a fucking living hell but…”

_  
_

Patrick’s staring at Pete confused now, why’d he trail off? It clicks a second later and he feels guilt pool in his gut “Pete…”

_  
_

Pete just sighed and pulled Patrick back into his arms, the smaller immediately pressed his face into Pete’s shoulder with a weak whimper  “I’m sorry, it’s my fault I’m sorry”

_  
_

“What do you mean? Can you control what happens to me? No, you can’t” Patrick swats Pete when he can feel more than hear the other begin to speak again (or think? Patrick wasn’t sure yet) “this bond-we rushed it on accident, when I let you touch me. I don’t know if the bond means we can swap memories or something but-” Patrick can’t continue as the face of his Aunt fills his mind for a moment and he breaks into a sob.

_  
_

Pete whimpers and squeezes Patrick again before rubbing his back in small circles  “Shh, shh, Patrick breathe okay? Breathe”

_  
_

“M’trying” Patrick whimpered and shuddered as a painful cough filled his lungs “you can’t control what happens, if you could I don’t think-I don’t think you’d let me see the bad memories just yet”

_  
_

“I don’t want you to see anything that’s happened to me at all”  Pete starts to softly whistle and Patrick finds himself falling asleep again  “If I ever showed you anything I’d rather show you the stuff I’ve seen when I’m in the ocean”

_  
_

That thought made Patrick shiver; the ocean was cold, like dead skin, like dead bodies- “Please tell me things, I don’t know what but something”

_  
_

Pete seemed to know-well, Patrick was sure Pete  _ did  _ feel how distressed Patrick was becoming, and shifted around so Patrick was laying on top of Pete and the other had his arms wrapped around Patrick as if he were a giant stuffed toy.

_  
_

“There’s a lot of things really, even if it doesn’t look like it when you look outside the windows. The sea floors pretty alive, it’s scary sometimes. Having sharks up close can be intimidating, they look like they’re going to attack you if you even move”  Pete started running his fingers through Patrick’s hair  “they get used to you after a while if you don’t give them any reason to attack you”

_  
_

Patrick tried listening, but the glove was starting to bother him so with a weak gulp he reached up and gently pushed Pete’s hand away “Can you-can you do without your glove?”

_  
_

He felt Pete tense  “Patrick I don’t-”

_  
_

“Fucking rub my back or something, pet my shoulder” Patrick felt guilty for snapping but at the moment he didn’t want to feel burlap or rubber, he wanted to feel Pete’s actual hand petting him “don’t touch my head if that’s where all the chemicals are supposed to go, just pet me somewhere else”

_  
_

“You-fucking...do you really want skin to skin contact that badly?”  Pete had propped himself on his elbows, Patrick felt like squirrel laying on a tree branch.

_  
_

“You never seemed against it before”

_  
_

Pete stayed silent for a few moments before letting out a low groan of annoyance, he nudged Patrick off him and the smaller understood; Patrick scrunched his eyes shut while Pete tugged his glove off and let himself be pulled back on top of Pete, he flinched a little when Pete’s hand slipped under his sweater (he hadn’t meant that but hey this seemed fine despite part of Patrick saying it was too intimate) and relaxed when Pete started to rub circles again.

_  
_

“This isn’t a good idea”  Patrick lifts his head up and jabs his chin into Pete’s chest  “ow-you fucking-don’t get mad at me for stating something. What if this is bad, Patrick?”

_  
_

“You could’ve said no” Patrick mumbled, throwing Pete’s words back at him “it feels nice, Pete...please tell me more about the ocean”

_  
_

“You little shit, fine, you win. What do you wanna know? I’ve seen a lot of stuff since I’ve been down here...there’s a lot of weird fish, pretty terrifying ones when you go near the darker pockets of rocks like they’re from the tiny caves there. I’ve had a few eels bite me, the little fuckers, they didn’t break through the diving suit though so that’s good since I’d probably drown if that were the case”  Pete paused, his hand stopping in the middle of Patrick’s back before starting to tap along his spine in some kind of rhythm  “there’s eels that would glow, all kinds of colors and all kinds of patterns that no one in Rapture could’ve been as beautiful as that...well, almost anyone”

_  
_

Patrick in his sleepy daze felt his cheeks turn pink, was Pete referring to him? “That sounds really nice...even though they tried biting you”

_  
_

Pete snorted and started tracing random shapes into Patrick’s skin  “There’d be fish too that glowed, they were the ugliest things you’d ever see but they were so beautiful sometimes. It’s a good thing you can’t see them from above, I’m pretty sure most folks would pass out screaming”

_  
_

Patrick’s eyes shut and slowly he started to drone off, images of glowing fish in strange shapes danced behind his eyes “But you weren’t scared?”

_  
_

“No, I wasn’t” Patrick’s head snapped up at how clear that sounded, he stared at Pete confused  “Patrick?”

_  
_

“I-you sounded...you sounded really clear just now” Patrick mumbled, blinking rapidly before laying his head back down “nothing, nevermind sorry, please keep talking?”

_  
_

“Uh..yeah, okay….but no, I wasn’t really that freaked out when I first saw them. The only thing that did scare me was the jellyfish, have you seen those little fuckers? They’re like ocean lamps but fuck do they hurt when they sting…”

_  
_

Patrick wasn’t sure when he fell asleep but apparently he did because the next thing he knew there was the sound of several tiny hands beating on the door and making him jump with a start, he rolled off Pete and ended up cracking his head on the floor; pain bloomed through his skull and he heard Pete somewhere near him make the dolphin whistle sound before there was shuffling and Patrick assumed he was putting his glove back on (since he’d still felt the warmth of Pete’s hand along his spine). 

_  
_

“Patrick! Patrick! Miss Yao wants you out of the closet!” came a chorus of giggles.

_  
_

Patrick sighed heavily and looked at Pete “nice wake up call I guess”

_  
_

Pete shrugged but didn’t look at Patrick  “Better than nightmares”

_  
_

“I...yeah I guess” Patrick mumbled and stood up “come on then, I guess we’re wanted”

_  
_

“You’re wanted”  Patrick winced, Pete made a weak whistle sound  “sorry”

_  
_

“It’s okay” Patrick reached over and grabbed Pete’s hand “we can talk about it later okay? Whatever is up, if anything is up”

_  
_

Pete just nodded and squeezed Patrick’s hand.

_  
_

The girls had all gone back to the play area and Patrick was greeted by Elisa handing him a bottle of pills “There’s a plate of food for you, along with a new map I found. I found some interesting areas while reading files that could help you with ruining Brendon’s family”

_  
_

Patrick found himself flinching as he sat at the table “uh...thanks, yeah more evidence…”

_  
_

“Patrick what’s wrong?” Elisa placed her hand on Patrick’s shoulder, the man noticed Pete’s light suddenly glow the dangerous orange but Elisa paid no mind it seemed “that’s what you need right? Or have you found everything, if so then you should’ve told me. I can get the girls ready now-”

_  
_

“No I still need solid evidence, records from Brendon’s office itself are preferable but I know I still can’t access that” Patrick felt a twinge of guilt as he pushed her hand away “I just...I’ve been reading about Brendon from several articles and…”

  
Elisa suddenly looked appalled “What are you saying? You sound as if you’re sympathising for the man! I don’t know what you read in those papers, Patrick, but Brendon wasn’t anywhere near kind! He used his charm to get what he wanted, used his money to do what he wanted-you aren’t-”

_  
_

“Jesus, I didn’t say anything!” Patrick sighed and started shoveling food into his mouth.

_  
_

“Then what were you implying?” Elisa sat across from Patrick, an angry expression set on her face and making the man shrink in his seat “I don’t know what you read in Dr. Armstrong’s papers but if he made you think that Brendon was ever a good person I’ll have you know I never saw him do anything other than manipulate….”

_  
_

“Can we fucking go” Patrick almost choked on a piece of bread, Pete sounding angry was worse than seeing the probably red light  “She has no fucking right to talk that way about Armstrong, what the hell does she even fucking know?”

_  
_

Patrick opened his mouth and quickly shut it since Elisa was still lecturing him and he didn’t think he needed her knowing he was talking to Pete, he recalled how he’d thought before speaking aloud and tried that instead.

_  
_

_ Pete I can’t just storm out, she’s-I mean yes she’s yelling at me but I can’t just leave  _

_  
_

“She doesn’t know anything Patrick!” 

_  
_

“..on top of that he’s the reason your  _ friend  _ is even around so he should hate him too!” Elisa’s face was red and Patrick jumped as she broke whatever thoughts he had.

_  
_

Patrick swallowed weakly as behind him he heard Pete give out a dangerous growl, quickly Patrick hopped off the chair and hastily pushed the map into his pocket “Elisa look, thank you for that information, I’m going to check out the areas you’ve marked. Yes I’ll be safe, if anything happens I’ll tell you, I’ve got to go”

_  
_

“Patrick-!” she started but the man was already hurrying out towards the exit.

_  
_

Once they were out in a hall away from the safe house Patrick turned around quickly and caused Pete to stumble and fall on his butt “What the hell was that? Why the hell were you growling?”

_  
_

“She doesn’t fucking know anything!”  Pete stood up too fast for Patrick’s liking, the smaller man shrinking back and this seemed to worsen Pete’s mood  “It’s her fucking fault those little girls turned into what they did anyway! Now she’s trying to repent but she won’t let Dr. Armstrong’s mistakes go even though he’s fucking dead!”

_  
_

“Pete those little girls started to become like children to her” Patrick tried to reason, though even that sounded like bullshit to him “you shouldn’t have done that, she could’ve-”

_  
_

“She couldn’t have done anything to me without scaring ‘her girls’”  Pete’s light was blood red and Patrick started to shake a little  “She shouldn’t fucking talk about what she wasn’t even fucking apart! She wasn’t fucking apart of it, she wasn’t in the fucking project, she can’t say shit about Dr. Armstrong!”

_  
_

“What the hell can I fucking  _ say,  _ Pete?!” Patrick finally shouted, causing the other’s light to turn yellow suddenly “I don’t know what you want me to say, what you want me to do! I just want to do what I came down to Rapture to do!” 

_  
_

The silence was unnerving, but Patrick preferred it compared to the soft  “And then you’ll leave” 

_  
_

“I-well yeah…” Patrick stared up at Pete, suddenly feeling a tight knot in his chest of...something, anxiety perhaps “I’m not from Rapture, Pete”

_  
_

“And I am?”  There’s a challenge in that tone, Patrick can feel the glare Pete’s giving him.

_  
_

The smaller man sighs in frustration and shakes his head “I-how should I know, Pete? How many times do I have to say it, we don’t know each other! I just...what happened to this morning? When you were comforting me” Patrick sounded weak, he felt it.

_  
_

Pete’s light flickered for a split second-had it turned green?-before he let out a whistling sigh and reached out to pull on Patrick’s arm  “She didn’t have the right to act like she knows everything about Dr. Armstrong, she didn’t have the right to act like she knew what you were going to say...what  _ were  _ you going to say?”

_  
_

“I was going to say that it seems like that Ryan guy was more of the issue than Urie was” Patrick mumbled, staring blankly as Pete slid his hand down to hold Patrick’s “I’m not pitying Brendon, he still condoned horrible crimes and experiments. He still allowed fucked up things to happen in the name of what his family decided”  _ He hurt you  _ Patrick added silently and wondered if Pete heard it when his hand was squeezed.

_  
_

They didn’t really talk after that, Patrick had pulled out the new map and selected an area in the fisheries; apparently there had been a fair share of shady deals there (no surprise) and Elisa had a feeling there might still be a few places where Patrick could find things. Again Patrick sat in Pete’s lap in the bathysphere, eyes shut as he listened to the steady sound of the watery world around him and the sound of Pete breathing, it was a strange soft rattling sound that was echoed most likely due to the helmet. 

“ So when you head back topside….”  Patrick opened his eyes and looked up at Pete, he didn’t finish his sentence

  


“...When I’m back topside?” Patrick encouraged but Pete stayed quiet, though Patrick felt Pete’s arms wrap tighter around him “hopefully I can get the therapy I’m gonna need for this bullshit”

  


Pete laughed quietly and they went back to silence, Patrick watched as they ascended to the docking bay; he frowned as he saw several thick clumps of ice clinging to walls and the stairs leading to the open storage area. Pete helped Patrick hop out of the bathysphere and the two paused for a moment, being in Rapture taught you this kind of silence was dangerous; Patrick jumped when Pete’s blade extended and he shot him a withering glare, all Pete did was squeeze Patrick’s arm and tugged him along. Around them the ice crackled and vapor rose up in brief clouds, it almost looked like a fog of some kind was starting to surround this place. Pete stopped suddenly and Patrick nearly slipped on the steps before catching the railing and turning to demand to know what made Pete stop when he saw it out of his peripheral vision-a camera was moving from side to side slowly but stopped directed on the two. 

  


“Shit” Patrick hissed, his hand started to crackle with electricity when he heard a familiar sound- “ _ Fuck, Pete move!”  _

  


The smaller man thought he’d have instinctively gone to Pete as the other jumped away from the steps, apparently though he was incorrect as he threw himself to the ground away from Pete and curled into a ball shouting as bullets hailed from 2 security bots seemingly dropping down from the ceiling and flying towards the two-no, Patrick realized as he sat up quickly, they were aiming at Pete. The other was using his shielded to deflect bullets that pinged back in random directions but Patrick felt sick seeing a few hit Pete’s legs and visibly he could see Pete beginning to slowly sink down; snapping out of whatever trance he was in, Patrick shocked both bots to the ground and watched them crash into pieces. He slipped a little as he scrambled to his feet, nearly cracking his head against a railing piece, and tried running forward towards Pete.

  


This wasn’t meant to happen apparently, because suddenly loud alarms started blaring and lights flashed; Patrick dumbly stopped in place and looked around as he heard the sound of creaking metal only for him to look at Pete who was looking back at him-but then there was no Pete and only two large metal doors that had slammed shut. The air seemed to be sucked out of Patrick’s lungs, he shot forward and crashed into the doors as if he could break through them and started slamming his fists into the metal. 

  


“Pete? Pete?” Patrick’s voice cracked as he tried shouting over the blaring sirens, on the other side of the door he could hear what he assumed was Pete hitting the doors as well.

  


The lights stopped flashing and the alarms were cut dead, Patrick whirled around with hand crackling full of electricity and gun held out, he was expecting a splicer to appear, what with the amount of noise there was no way there wouldn’t be any coming at him; instead, there was a loud crackling sound coming from the shortwave making Patrick jump a little.

  


“What the fuck-” Patrick grabbed the shortwave and stared at it confused as the image of a man appeared “who-”

  


“ _ You alive down there?”  _ the irish accent caught Patrick off guard slightly

  


“I-yeah?” Patrick frowned “who the hell are you, did you do this?”

  


“ _ I’m not sure what  _ this  _ is referring to but if you want to live I need you to listen to me. I’ve seen you shock those security bots down, which if I’m right that means you got plasmids” _

  


“What’s the point of bringing that up?” Patrick noticed the sound of Pete hitting the walls had stopped “Pete? Pete!” Patrick turned around and started hitting the door “Pete! What the hell did you do to him!” 

  


“ _ Calm down! He hopped back into the water, there isn’t much he can do to get to you through this area. Look, I need you to trust me here alright?”  _

  


“Why should I listen to you?” 

  


“ _ Because if you wanna live long enough to see that thing that was with you again, you’ve got to trust me”  _

  


Patrick tightened his hold on the radio a bit “Fine. There’s ice everywhere, is it all over this place?”

  


_ “A good portion of it, you’ve got that fire plasmid I hope?” _

  


“Gimme directions to a gene bank and I will” was Patrick really trusting this guy? Yes, he was 

  


“ _ Not too far from here, unfortunately for you though those alarms and bots Ross sent down stirred up a few Splicers. A Circus of Values machine is nearby, if you can manage ‘till then you’ll be good”  _

  


Patrick slowly made his way up stairs “Ross? As in Ryan Ross?”

  


“ _ Wasn’t allowed much to call him by his frist name unless you wanted a bullet in your head. How’d you find his name, did he bring you down here?”  _ shit, that cautious tone was something Patrick didn’t need 

  


“I’m a reporter” he interrupted quickly “I-the cops caught Brendon Urie up top and his family is linked to a lot of crimes. He bragged about some underwater city and my business sent me out here to get evidence to use against him to prove his family guilty for all the crimes” 

  


“ _ So the bastard did run up topside huh? Figured he did, he’s not as stupid as most thought he was. So if he’s in holding what about his girl?” _

  


“His girl?”  _ Oh!  _ “Um, if you mean Sarah Orzechowski she’s still down here” and God only knew what had happened to her since they’d last talked “Brendon went up alone-okay off topic but what’s your name?”

  


“ _ Andy, was just about to ask yours. You’re telling me he left her down here? That’s hard to believe, I never saw anyone look at someone like they held the stars the way Urie did to her. You sure she didn’t get left behind on accident?” _

  


“I don’t really know, we didn’t have much time to chat. Uh, I’m Patrick…why’re you down here anyway?” 

  


Andy snorted “ _ not like I had many places left to go. How’d you survive so long if you’re not from Rapture? You meet someone down here?” _

  


_ “ _ Um, yeah, Dr. Elisa Yao” 

  


“ _ So she’s still alive then too? I ‘spose that’s good to hear”  _

  


“What the hell does that mean?” Patrick winced a little, he’d entered a hallway and all around him was cracking ice “by chance how far am I from those Splicers”

  


“ _ A bit ahead maybe, I’d keep the volume down though. You think you’ve got enough ammo?” _

  


“If I’m not trigger happy...what’d you mean?” maybe he should’ve dropped it but now he was getting irritable...a little more irritable than maybe normal

  


“ _ Look if you’ve met Yao then you’ve no doubt seen her little monsters.  _ That’s  _ what I’m meaning, she went and turned harmless little girls into monsters”  _

  


Patrick huffed a sigh “Am I close to the gene bank yet or not” 

  


“ _ ‘Round the next corner, be careful though, I can hear the Splicers shrieking and raising hell”  _

  


Patrick tied the radio back to his side and pulled his gun from the holster, he peeked slowly around a corner and mentally cursed; indeed there was the gene bank against the far wall, but so were several Splicers shouting at each other and swinging blindly at nothing. It was a quick job thankfully, shock and shoot ‘till they dropped, and Patrick was by the gene bank in a snap. 

  


“ _ You’re pretty used to this lot already huh?”  _ Patrick jumped as the radio crackled back to life “ _ sorry. How long you been down here?” _

  


“Um...kind of lost count” which really he had, that thought gave Patrick a sudden anxiety “okay so, got my fire ready or whatever...so how do I get back to Pete?” 

  


The sudden radio silence unnerved Patrick a bit, he glanced around him as he felt the same flickering feeling of irritation creeping up “ _ Sorry, had to check something...like I said, your... _ friend  _ or whatever the hell is going on between you and that thing, he went back into the water. Ross made sure those doors aint’ opening again so you’re going to have to go through the freezers to get to any spot your friend can access you to. That is, of course, assuming he’s coming back for you” _

  


That stung in Patrick’s gut and his plasmid hand suddenly lit up with flames “what the hell do you know”

  


“ _ Calm down, calm down! Alright, so he’s a touchy subject, I got it. You can’t expect me to not be surprised though, me being down here all alone and suddenly I check a camera and that thing Urie was working on is just waltzing around holdin’ hands with some lad”  _

  


Patrick huffed quietly, again wincing at a sting in his head “Will you be directing me through the freezers?” 

  


_ “I can only speak to you so much when you’re down in the freezers it’ll get a bit harder. Just know once you get to the freezers keep going straight and you’ll maybe find your friend if he did come back for you”  _

  


“He  _ wouldn’t  _ leave me” Patrick heard nothing after that, maybe Andy decided he’d pressed a wrong button and now left Patrick with the thought of Pete leaving him again after they’d more or less just solidified their bond, that was certinaly making Patrick’s stomach wrench. 

He made his way down another hall again that opened up into another large area, several fish crates were smashed and the stench of rot somehow still caused Patrick to cover his nose; he spotted vapor rising from somewhere behind a large metal crate that was unopened, behind he found stairs leading downwards into  what he assumed were the freezers. The noticeable temperature change as Patrick made his way down and the amount of ice around him confirmed these suspicions; Patrick paused at the bottom step and just stared, it looked like a wasteland of metal and cold with icy mounds everywhere and he was fairly sure he saw a few dead bodies in the ice. He frowned, bodies meant Splicers might be down here and he wasn’t sure he’d like to burn them up left and right in case he somehow flooded the freezers; Patrick stole his resolve as he reminded himself Pete might be down there and he needed to find him-though before that he turned the radio back on.

  


The sound of crackling ice was almost deafening and put Patrick on edge, his trigger finger itching to shoot anything that made sound and without meaning to he lit his hand up which cast an eerier reflection off the walls and ice; it could’ve been the paranoia but Patrick thought he heard distant sobbing and jibbering, God, he needed to just find Pete already and-and he stopped in his tracks for a moment and stared at his shoes in confusion. What exactly was going on with him? The buzzing was there, that confirmed to Patrick that Pete was okay (was that how it worked though? Patrick didn’t want to admit that he was pulling at straws) but where was he? 

  


_ Well he’s traveling through water, it probably takes a bit...yeah, that’s it, he’s just trying to find his way up here  _ the buzzing started to turn into stinging and Patrick felt a small panic spark in his chest “Pete? Pete?”

  


Nothing, why did he expect that to work-

  


He’d felt pain enough in his life; when he’d fell down the stairs, when Kevin accidentally hit him when they were playing hide and seek, whenever he’d press to much for a possible case, almost every moment down here in Rapture. Nothing though,  _ nothing,  _ compared to what suddenly shot through Patrick’s body like an injection of suffering; Patrick dropped to his knees and screamed, gripping at his hair and curling into a fetal position. The pain ended just as fast as it had arrived, maybe it had been merely a few seconds but Patrick was gasping and choking on bile threatning to rise up, what the  _ fuck  _ had that been?

* * *

Forcing himself through pain was something Patrick had become accustomed to; it still felt like his brain was in a blender and his gut was trying to settle itself as he ran down the icy halls, slipping but catching himself a few times and-though it wasn’t that surprising-killing a few splicers that happened to be alive. Sure enough Andy’s directions led Patrick towards a vault-like door, unfortunately for Patrick though the scorched and busted up box to the left of it he assumed was most likely its power source; now he stood staring at it blankly, the sick feeling still brewing inside him and the cogwheels in his head desperately trying to think of a way to open the wall. 

  


_ Un _ fortunately for him the backup generator labeled IDIOT-IDEAS-FOR-PANICKING kicked on and Patrick shocked the box, screamed several curses at it, then started banging his fists against it;

  


“No! Open, fucking open come on!”  _ Bang! Bang! Bang!  _ It was a wonder Splicers weren’t running towards the commotion Patrick was making “ _ Open! Open up!” _

  


One last hit and Patrick stared at the rusted metal inches from his face, he dropped his head against it and squeezed his eyes shut tightly from an oncoming headache; around him the ice still cracked and somewhere above him he could distantly hear the rabid screamings of Splicers-

  


Upstairs. 

  


Patrick’s head snapped up so fast it was a wonder he didn’t give himself whiplash, just as quick he turned and began running back towards the stairs; Andy said he couldn’t talk to Patrick down here but upstairs he could, if the man’s hopes were right then maybe Andy could do something down here (what though Patrick wasn’t sure since the box was busted and he wasn’t even sure if the room Andy was in reached down to the lower levels). However as Patrick turned another corner he slid to a dead stop, he flailed a bit to catch his balance before turning around and staring down the empty hall. It wouldn’t be that hard to believe that his ears were playing tricks on him but...did he just hear the sound of something heavy being moved?

  


Yes, yes he did; Patrick now stood outside the open doorway and felt cold, who the hell opened it? He gripped the revolver as he slowly entered the room, head snapping from side to side quickly and ears straining to hear for any Splicers or security bots in the area. Though honestly as he looked around the room he saw that it just looked like a larger version of a docking bay only with large turned over shipping containers and long decayed fish remains, no doubt preserved by the cold. No signs, though, of anyone or anything that could’ve opened the doors- _ nope,  _ there it was; a camera slowly going from side to side staring down with its red light. Patrick swallowed dryly, had there been a camera outside? No, he would’ve noticed it. 

The room didn’t hold anything else in it to the obvious eye, Patrick was still wondering if maybe Andy had seen Patrick through a camera maybe Patrick had indeed missed when he suddenly slipped and dropped to his knees with a painful  _ Thud!  _ He hissed a sharp curse and sat back rubbing his knee, stupid fucking ice-oh. 

  


_ Ice isn’t red,  _ a voice whispered inside Patrick’s mind as he looked at the stain on his hand and pants, indeed Ice wasn’t red like that. 

  


“No” Patrick half whimpered half whispered as he slowly turned his head to look beside the pool, stomach doing flips as he stared wondering how he even missed the large red splatter. 

  


It wasn’t just on this side either, looking across the pool Patrick saw more blood and over at the far side he saw a few mutilated Splicers laying crumpled against the wall. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Patrick seemed to suddenly remember just why he tried getting into this room in the first place; he scrambled and stood up on shaky legs, breath coming quick and sharp as he looked around the room again, that-no the blood couldn’t have been Pete’s, there was no way it could’ve been.

  


_ Why? Because you don’t want it to be?  _ Again the nasty voice sneered at him  _ You’ve already seen him bleed, you know he can just like you. Look how much blood there is, and he isn’t even here! That must mean he went back into the water, but that means his wetsuit must’ve been ripped! That means if he went back in- _

  


“Shut the fuck up!” Patrick screamed, it echoed through the room and even in to the halls, maybe even upstairs “he isn’t fucking dead, he’s not fucking dead he’s fucking fine!” 

  


There was no mental sneer back, just Patrick standing alone in a room covered in what he hoped  was Splicers blood and not Pete’s. He turned on heel and quickly made his way back towards the door but as he passed he paused to look back at the camera, it was shut off now…shaking his head Patrick practically ran through the corridor back to the stairs, gripping the revolver and mentally preparing himself to face Splicers only to find nothing awaiting him. Patrick didn’t waste time though; he hurried back to the gene bank, jumping when the radio crackled to life.

  


“ _ Patrick? You alright down there, thought I heard someone screaming”  _

  


_ Yeah, me  _ “can you see the lower levels where you are?” 

  


“ _ If I could I would’ve checked down below before sending you down there, why?” _

  


Shit “someone was watching me then because the door down there was locked shut, the power box was busted and I tried shocking it but that did jack shit”

  


“ _ How d’you know someone was watching you?”  _ Patrick started to open his mouth but Andy snorted in interruption “ _ don’t answer that, I can take a wild guess on who was spying on you. This isn’t good, the only camera I know down there is in the docking bay down there”  _

  


Patrick’s stomach dropped “So Ryan opened the door?”

  


“ _ If it wasn’t me lookin’ at you then it was him. He’s got eyes all over Rapture, my guess is he saw you coming down here as an opportunity to separate you from that thing” _

  


“That  _ thing  _ is looking for me” Patrick snapped and winced, his head was stinging again.

  


_ “Well you’d know him more than me...you run into a bit of trouble down there? You’re redder than Campari”   _

  


“A few Splicers, most of the...most of the blood was when I slipped in the docking bay” Patrick said the last part with a sick feeling in his gut, Andy didn’t say anything to that and Patrick was grateful “Is-do you know how I can get those doors open? Maybe Pete went back to the luxury buildings” 

  


“ _ Been trying to get them open while you were down there”  _ Patrick frowned and glanced over at a camera that was moving around “ _ aw c’mon, don’t give me that look! I wasn’t going to leave you here. I told you, you’re going to have to trust me and I’m going to have to trust you too. Look, right now I’m not getting much luck done. The power’s workin’ fine here, I can’t figure out what you need to do-” _

  


Patrick nearly dropped the radio at the pop of static that went off, he scrambled to catch it but regretted it when he did; usually when someone spoke the radio displayed a photo on the small screen but now all Patrick saw was solid black. 

  
“wh-Andy? Andy what’s going on” he hated how much his voice shook but fuck right now Andy was his only ally in this place-

  


Slowly the radio began to emanate sounds that Patrick had become familar with; the strange rippling-water sounds and creakes of a building holding itself up, a phantom singer somewhere and Splicers raving mad. Patrick gripped the radio so hard his knuckles turned white, what was happening…? He jumped again as distantly (well, distantly from whatever was broadcasting these sounds) there was heavy thumps and a dragging noise, Patrick’s heart ached as he realized he knew those footsteps. The footsteps came closer and to Patrick’s horror he heard ragged wheezing, oh god how hurt was Pete? There was a loud thump that Patrick assumed meant Pete either fell to the ground or had moved to sit down, the wheezing had turned into a sharp cry of pain and Patrick himself let out a whimper.

  


He knew better, of course he did, but he still spoke anyway “Pete? Pete oh god-Pete please, I can hear you” 

  


He knew there was no point in hoping, no point in waiting with baited breath that Pete would respond; he didn’t of course, and Patrick felt his heart shatter as the wheezing had begun to turn into high whimpers and retching coughs. Oh please, whatever god was down in Rapture, please don’t let this be the last time Patrick heard Pete, through a fucking radio while he was trapped in some rotting fish storage. A loud metal clunking sound startled Patrick for a moment, what the hell had that been? Soon his ears picked up on it though; the wheezes and ragged cries of pain weren’t so muffled now. 

  


Patrick hadn’t realized he’d sunken to his knees, he stared down at the radio in his lap and croaked out again “Pete…?” 

  


And again there was a pop of static, the radio cutting whatever source it had gotten the signal from; but before it did that, and Patrick swore he wasn’t losing his mind (somehow), he heard a broken croak that sounded like it ended in “-ck”. 

  


As soon as it went quite again though Andy’s voice broke the silence again “ _ Patrick!”  _ the man jumped and stared at the small photo being shown “ _ good god, man, what the hell are you doing? Been trying to radio you, what happened?” _

  


_ I don’t know, I have no fucking clue what happened but god Pete needs me  _ Patrick swallowed dryly and stood up too fast on shaky legs “I-what do you need me to do? I need to get to Pete, it’s important” 

  


“ _ You’ve been saying that. Look the best I can say is you need to get to the generator room, figure out what’s going on down there. I’ll be able to talk to ya when you’re in there, radio signal won’t be blocked. I’ll try and figure things out on my end, if I can get the door working again I’ll radio you”  _

  


Patrick nodded but couldn’t knock the sick feeling, there was no way Ross was going to make things easy for them; Andy gave Patrick directions to the room and he rushed off.

  


_ Wait for me Pete, I’ll get to you soon. _

  



End file.
